Pathwarden vs WARDEN
Compare Pathwarden and WARDEN side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Pathwarden | WARDEN | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Universal |
| Tags | Tactical, Classless, Character Building, Exploration, Sandbox, Character-Driven, Mana Points, Strong GM Support | Cinematic, Classless, Character Building, Tactical, Exploration, Sandbox, Character-Driven, Grid-Based, Toolkit, 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. | Roll a d20 plus a relevant Proficiency and modifiers against a Difficulty Value. A natural 20 or 1 shifts the result one tier, while a result at least 10 above or below the difficulty is a critical. In Conflict, player characters get three Action Points and one Reaction each round. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | ORC License | ORC License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — ORC License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Ghost Spark | Ghost Spark |
| Year | 2024 | 2026 |
| Languages | English | English |
| 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 want a tactical, classless system for genre-spanning sandbox campaigns. It rewards a table that enjoys campaign maps, setting alterations, and procedures for custom material. |
| 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. | Classless characters combine Abilities and Feats from three Paths, letting builds develop without fixed classes. Campaign Maps use places, secrets, threats, and clocks to structure an open-ended campaign around player choices. Setting Alterations and Game Warden creation rules provide procedures for adapting the game to a chosen genre. |
| 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. | Character customization spreads choices across more than 150 Abilities and 500 Feats, so players compare a large catalogue before committing to a build. Conflict procedure is dense: action costs, reactions, conditions, attack penalties, and effect rolls all matter during a turn. Game Wardens are expected to create a campaign map and choose setting alterations before the first session, so the game asks for preparation beyond character creation. |