OSRIC vs Rifts
Compare OSRIC and Rifts side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| OSRIC | Rifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero |
| Tags | Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, High-Fantasy, Character Building, Theater of the Mind, Heroic, Descending AC, Vancian Casting | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers vs. target numbers (THAC0/AC for combat, saving throws for hazards). Ability scores rolled on 3d6, class and level determine hit dice, spells, and abilities. GM acts as referee for rulings. | 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 | d20 | d20, d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | AELF + CC BY 4.0 (SRD 5.1) | 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 | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Mythmere Games | Palladium Books Inc. |
| Year | 2025 | 2005 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Players who want the classic AD&D 1e experience with cleaner organization, well-defined rules for combat and spells, and a huge library of compatible OSR content. | 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 | Faithful AD&D 1e rules reorganized for clarity, large back-catalog of compatible adventures, middle-ground complexity between B/X and modern D&D, free PDF available | 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 | Deliberately old-school: THAC0 and descending AC may confuse modern players, less balanced than modern systems, relies heavily on GM rulings, limited character customization compared to newer games | 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. |