Pathfinder vs Vagabond
Compare Pathfinder and Vagabond side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Pathfinder | Vagabond | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Fast-Paced, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Heroic, Pulp Action, Solo-Friendly, Player-Only Rolls, Mana Points |
| 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 vs. Difficulty (20 − Stat, doubled if Trained). Crit on nat 20, fail below Difficulty. All rolls player-facing. Spend Luck for Advantage (Favor) or rerolls (Fluke). Three saves — Endure (MIT×2), Reflex (DEX+AWR), Will (RSN+PRS). Defend with Block or Dodge on off-turns. Mana-based magic scales one spell from cantrip to nuke. Enemy AI action gambits run monsters for the GM. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | Very High | Low |
| Community | Very High | Very Low |
| License | ORC | Open Compatibility |
| Cost | Free (ORC) | $$ |
| Publisher | Paizo | Land of the Blind |
| 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 wanting modern character depth married to old-school speed — 20+ ancestries, 17 classes, non-Vancian mana magic, and built-in solo/co-op/guided play. |
| 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. | Trillions of character combos from 20+ ancestries and 17 classes, non-Vancian mana magic is flexible, solo/co-op/guided play modes, Luck pool adds tactical resource management, enemy AI action gambits reduce GM load, B/X-compatible monsters and 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. | Dense class and ancestry options can overwhelm new players, pulp-fantasy tone limits grimdark play |