Original Dungeons & Dragons vs Pathfinder
Compare Original Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Original Dungeons & Dragons | Pathfinder | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Sandbox, Random Tables, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Domain Management | Tactical, Crunchy, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Ability scores are rolled on 3d6, and combat uses a d20 attack matrix keyed to class or Hit Dice and Armor Class. Initiative uses dice, saving throws use class-and-level tables, and spellcasters have limited spells remembered per adventure. | 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 | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | ORC |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open and compatibility licenses |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | Free |
| Publisher | Tactical Studies Rules | Paizo |
| Year | 1974 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Best For | Groups who want an early fantasy campaign game with dungeon expeditions, open wilderness play, and substantial referee adjudication. It fits tables willing to choose or adapt procedures when the rules leave room. | 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 | A class-and-level attack matrix turns a d20 roll into a direct Armor Class result. Separate dungeon, wilderness, aerial, and naval procedures let a campaign expand beyond expeditions. Referee-facing dungeon design and stronghold rules support an open campaign beyond a prepared scenario. | 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 | Classes, race limits, spell lists, and attack matrices impose a specific early D&D structure. The original rules distribute important procedures across separate subjects rather than one universal task rule. Running strict 1974 requires separating the original rules from Chainmail references and later compilation material. | 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. |