Rifts vs Slugblaster
Compare Rifts and Slugblaster side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | Slugblaster | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero | Scifi |
| Tags | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical | Narrative, Rules-Light, Cinematic, Fast-Paced, Gonzo, Character-Driven, Comedy |
| 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. | Forged in the Dark: roll a d6 dice pool and take the highest: 6 is a success, 4–5 is a partial success, 1–3 is a failure. No attributes or skills: instead, spend Boost to add dice. Kick lets you push your luck for Style Points by adding flair to any action. Style Points fuel advancement and reputation. Trouble tracks escalate consequences from parents, school, and interdimensional authorities. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Forged in the Dark |
| 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. | Wilkie's Candy Lab (Mikey Hamm) |
| Year | 2005 | 2022 |
| 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 fast-paced, irreverent adventures about teenagers hoverboarding through alternate dimensions, doing tricks, getting sponsorships, and avoiding getting grounded. |
| 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. | Combines teen drama with dimension-hopping action sports, Kick mechanic adds dice for adding flair to actions, Indie Groundbreaker Game of the Year winner, Trouble tracks escalate consequences from parents and authorities without lethal combat |
| 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. | Narrow genre focused on teenage hoverboard adventures, no attributes or skills: characters differentiate through playsheet and narrative choices only, five playsheets (Grit, Guts, Smarts, Heart, Chill) limit build variety, tone is specifically absurdist teen action |