Rifts vs Rolemaster
Compare Rifts and Rolemaster side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Rifts | Rolemaster | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero | Fantasy |
| Tags | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical | Crunchy, Simulation, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Gritty, Deadly, Roll to Cast, Mana Points, Hackable |
| Core Mechanic | Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage. | Most rolls are d100 open-ended: 96–00 is rolled again and added, and a first roll of 01–05 is rolled again and subtracted. A maneuver adds the skill bonus and a difficulty modifier, and a total of 101 or higher succeeds. Some maneuvers allow partial success or partial progress on lower totals. An attack roll opens upward only, adds Offensive Bonus, subtracts the target's Defensive Bonus, and is read on the weapon's attack table in the column for the target's Armor Type. A hit gives damage and sometimes a critical, resolved by a separate d100 roll on a critical table. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d100 |
| Complexity | Very High | Very High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Palladium Books Inc. | Iron Crown Enterprises |
| Year | 2005 | 2022 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses. | Groups who want a long fantasy campaign with granular character building and combat where weapon, armor, and each wound carry mechanical weight. It suits tables comfortable resolving attacks and injuries through table lookups. |
| Highlights | Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds. | Armor Type selects the column on each attack table, so armor changes both the damage a blow delivers and the total needed to score a critical. Profession sets what each skill rank costs, so a Fighter can still take magical skills at a higher cost. Spell Law organizes magic into 171 lists of 25 spells, and a caster buys ranks in a list to reach its higher-level spells. |
| Considerations | Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system. | Core Law and Spell Law have no bestiary or treasure tables, which Core Law assigns to the separate Creature Law and Treasure Law volumes. Resolving one attack can take an attack-table lookup, a critical roll, and tracking of bleeding, stun, and injury penalties. Without magical healing, injuries can take days or longer to recover, and Core Law advises scheduling significant downtime between combat sessions. |