Pathfinder vs Pirate Borg
Compare Pathfinder and Pirate Borg side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder | Pirate Borg | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy, Horror |
| Play Style | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy | Deadly, Rules-Light, Gonzo, Pirates, Fast-Paced, Random Tables |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | Roll d20 + ability modifier vs. a Difficulty Rating (DR). Players roll both attack and defense. Five abilities (STR, AGI, PRE, TOU, SPI). Classes include Brute, Rapscallion, Buccaneer, and Swashbuckler. Devil's Luck points provide clutch rerolls. Ship combat uses broadside volleys and boarding actions. Fully compatible with Mörk Borg content. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Community | Very High | Medium |
| License | ORC | Mörk Borg Third Party License |
| Cost | Free (ORC) | $$ |
| Publisher | Paizo | Limithron LLC / Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2023 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want deep character customization, tactical grid combat with meaningful turn-by-turn decisions, and a richly detailed fantasy setting with free rules. | Groups who want fast, brutal pirate adventures with a doom-metal aesthetic — ship combat, cursed treasure, and a world spiraling toward annihilation. |
| Highlights | Complete rules available free on Archives of Nethys. Three-action economy gives every turn meaningful tactical decisions. Character customization through ancestry feats, class feats, skill feats, and general feats at every level. Four degrees of success on every roll add granularity to outcomes. | Simple rules, ship combat is fast-paced, Devil's Luck creates drama, fully Mörk Borg compatible, extensive random tables for pirate adventures |
| Considerations | 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 requires selecting feats from multiple categories at every level, which can overwhelm new players. | Class balance varies significantly, core book layout prioritizes style over reference usability, ship combat rules are lighter than expected, random character generation limits player investment |