Rifts vs SAKE
Compare Rifts and SAKE side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | SAKE | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero | Fantasy |
| Tags | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical | Crunchy, Modular, Domain Management, Sandbox, Ship-Based, Faction Play, Roll to Cast, Skill-Based |
| 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. | Roll d20 + Skill Ranks + attribute modifier against a Difficulty Level. Characters are built with a point-buy system using Experience Points to purchase Skill Ranks, abilities, Health Points, and spells. In combat, the attacker rolls d20 + Attack against the defender's d20 + Parrying, with weapon damage reduced by armour's Damage Reduction. Sorcery uses Spellpoints and is divided into six schools, each with its own risks: failed casting rolls can trigger consequences from exhaustion to madness to summoning hostile spirits. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Very High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All rights reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Palladium Books Internet Policy limited license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Palladium Books Inc. | Seventh Son Publishing |
| Year | 2005 | 2025 |
| 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 comprehensive sandbox toolkit that seamlessly blends traditional adventuring with domain-level strategy: managing kingdoms, trading across oceans, waging wars, and navigating a detailed early-modern caste society. |
| 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. | Four modular systems (Adventuring, Sorcery/Otherworld, Domain/Warfare, and Trade/Seafaring) each function independently and integrate with the others. Domain management operates through quarterly Domain Turns with taxes, construction, random events, espionage, and faction politics. Overseas trade system models supply, demand, and piracy across a mapped world with named trade regions and goods. Magic carries real consequences: learning spells risks madness, and failed castings can summon hostile spirits or damage the caster's soul. |
| 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. | 590-page rulebook requires significant reading investment before play, even with modular adoption. Character creation can take several hours for first-time players. The default setting (Asteanic World) is deeply integrated into many rules: the caste system, trade routes, and political factions assume that setting. |