Pathfinder vs Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Compare Pathfinder and Shadow of the Weird Wizard side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder | Shadow of the Weird Wizard | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Tactical, Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, High-Fantasy, Grid-Based, Heroic, Ascending AC, Exploration, Classic Fantasy, Lore-Heavy | Heroic, Beginner-Friendly, Fast Sessions, GM-Friendly, Character Building |
| 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 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) modify the roll. Luck replaces traditional experience, driving both advancement and dramatic moments. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Community | Very High | Low |
| License | ORC | Weird Wizard SRD |
| Cost | Free (ORC) | $$ |
| Publisher | Paizo | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2023 | 2024 |
| 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 a lighter, heroic take on the Shadow of the Demon Lord engine with fast play and deep character options. |
| 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. | Streamlined rules with few exceptions, novice/expert/master path system offers deep character combinations, Luck mechanic doubles as advancement and resource currency |
| 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. | Setting tightly coupled to core rules, shares most mechanics with Shadow of the Demon Lord |