Pathwarden vs Salvage Union
Compare Pathwarden and Salvage Union side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Pathwarden | Salvage Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Tactical, Classless, Character Building, Exploration, Sandbox, Character-Driven, Mana Points, Strong GM Support | Mecha, Resource Management, Base-Building, Character Building, Exploration, Sandbox, Tactical, Survival, Narrative, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + the relevant Proficiency and modifiers and meet or beat a difficulty. Beating or missing it by 10 produces a critical result, while a natural 20 or 1 shifts the degree one step. Benefit and Detriment change the difficulty by 5. | For a pilot's risky action, roll an unmodified d20: 20 succeeds with a bonus, 11–19 succeeds, 6–10 presents a Tough Choice, 2–5 fails with a setback, and 1 brings a severe consequence. The Mediator frames costs and consequences from the situation. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | ORC License | Salvage Union Open Game Licence 1.0b |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Ghost Spark | Leyline Press |
| Year | 2024 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, Italian |
| Best For | Groups who want classless tactical fantasy with grid combat, build experimentation, and campaigns that alternate between exploration, conflicts, and long-term projects. It suits a Lorewarden comfortable preparing a regional sandbox. | Groups who enjoy building custom mechs, scavenging parts, and managing a shared stockpile of scrap to maintain and improve their equipment and mobile settlement. |
| Highlights | Fast and Slow Turns let players trade one action for acting before enemies, turning initiative into a round-by-round tactical choice. Three classless Paths open Boons and Feats that let characters combine martial, magical, and skill-focused abilities. Exploration and Horizon procedures connect regional travel, threat clocks, and long-term Projects to the consequences of each adventure. | Recovered scrap funds mech construction and crawler upkeep, linking equipment choices to the community's survival. Swappable mech components let players build for jobs such as hauling or hacking. Players choose setbacks when NPC actions fail, giving the table authority over consequences beyond its own characters. |
| Considerations | Grid combat asks players to track action costs, positioning, conditions, and multiple-attack penalties each round. Character advancement spreads options across Boons, Feats, Skills, and magical Disciplines, so players compare abilities drawn from several chapters. The campaign structure expects the Lorewarden to prepare an Adventure Map of regions and threats before play. | Players track separate pilot and mech resources, including Ability Points and Heat. Unpaid crawler upkeep normally prompts a deterioration roll, making regular salvage income an ongoing pressure. Encounters follow the world's circumstances rather than guaranteed balance, making reconnaissance and retreat consequential choices. |