Open Legend vs Storypath Ultra

Compare Open Legend and Storypath Ultra side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Open Legend	Storypath Ultra
Genre	Universal	Universal
Tags	Toolkit, Classless, Hackable, Heroic, Modular, Character Building, Tactical, Crunchy	Toolkit, Modular, Hackable, Investigation, Social Intrigue, Narrative, Classless
Core Mechanic	Roll a d20 plus one or more attribute dice (d4 through d12 based on attribute score, scaling to multiple dice at higher scores) against a Challenge Rating. All dice explode on their maximum face and can keep exploding without limit. Characters have eighteen attributes split across Physical, Mental, Social, and Extraordinary categories; extraordinary attributes channel banes (negative effects) and boons (positive effects) instead of tracking a spell list. Advantage or disadvantage adds extra dice and drops the lowest or highest before summing.	Roll a pool of d10s equal to Skill + Attribute. Each die showing 8+ is a hit; 10s count as two hits. Add Enhancement (bonus hits from gear, abilities, or circumstances). Spend hits to meet the difficulty, buy off Complications (side effects attached to the roll), or purchase Tricks (extra effects like knockdown or critical hits). Failed rolls generate Momentum, a shared pool players spend for bonus hits, to turn failures into successes, or to introduce story facts.
Dice	d20 + d4–d12	d10 dice pool
Complexity	Medium	Medium
Availability	Free core rules	Paid
Runnability	Book tools not listed	4 of 5 book tools
License	Open Legend Community License (SRD)	Proprietary (third-party license pending)
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Not yet researched
Publisher	Seventh Sphere Publishing	Onyx Path Publishing
Year	2018	2026
Languages	English	English
Best For	Groups who want a single classless engine to handle fantasy, science fiction, modern, or horror campaigns through eighteen attributes spanning physical, mental, social, and extraordinary domains, with magic and special effects folded into the same dice mechanic as combat.	Groups who want a genre-agnostic d10 dice pool engine with dedicated subsystems for action, investigation, and social intrigue: especially those building their own setting or adapting existing Storypath games.
Highlights	All dice explode on maximum rolls with no cap, producing occasional dramatic result spikes through the same mechanic that handles ordinary rolls. Magic is folded into the attribute system through banes and boons, so extraordinary attributes like Energy or Entropy roll for fixed effects rather than tracking a spell list. Hits that exceed a defense by ten or more automatically apply a free bane on top of damage, so big roll-overs translate into status effects like knockdown or stunned rather than wasted overflow.	Three distinct play modes (action-adventure, investigation, and influence) each with dedicated mechanics. Complications and Tricks give every successful roll narrative texture beyond pass/fail. Momentum turns failed rolls into a shared resource that keeps the story moving. Modular building-block systems (powers, heists, vehicles, crafting, large-scale combat) plug into any game.
Considerations	First-level character creation spends 40 attribute points across 18 attributes plus 6 feat points across a tiered feat list, producing heavy upfront decision load before play begins. Weapons have no damage dice (damage equals your action roll minus the target's defense), so weapon variety within a category is largely cosmetic, and the book itself notes that a longsword mechanically dominates a shortsword. Hit points come from Fortitude, Presence, and Will (HP = 2·(F+P+W) + 10) rather than from level, so a character who dumps all three stays near 10 HP regardless of how much XP they earn.	No included setting beyond three short examples: groups must build or adapt their own world. No free quickstart or SRD available. Multiple interacting subsystems (Enhancement, Advantage, bonds, Complications) take several sessions to internalize.