Rifts vs Star Wars Roleplaying Game
Compare Rifts and Star Wars Roleplaying Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | Star Wars Roleplaying Game | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Career-Based, Narrative, Space Opera, Licensed IP, Faction Play, Combat-Heavy, Character Building |
| 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. | Assemble a pool of custom narrative dice: positive (Boost, Ability, Proficiency) from skills and equipment, negative (Setback, Difficulty, Challenge) from task difficulty. Roll and cancel opposing symbols on three independent axes (Success vs. Failure, Advantage vs. Threat, Triumph vs. Despair), so every check produces both an outcome and narrative texture. Each corebook adds its own character-pressure layer: Edge of the Empire tracks Obligation (debts and burdens that randomly trigger at session start), Age of Rebellion tracks Duty (Rebel mission focus that earns Contribution Rank toward Alliance promotions), and Force and Destiny tracks Morality (a 0–100 light-vs-dark scale that fuels a dedicated Force die powering abilities like Move, Sense, and Influence). |
| Dice | d20, d100 | Custom dice |
| Complexity | Very High | Medium |
| 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. | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Year | 2005 | 2013 |
| 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 narrative-rich Star Wars campaign where every roll generates story texture beyond pass/fail, and who can pick the corebook (or mix multiple) matching their preferred campaign focus: outer-rim scoundrels, Rebel operatives, or hunted Force users. |
| 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. | Three corebooks fully cross-compatible: Edge of the Empire (fringe criminals and scoundrels), Age of Rebellion (Rebel Alliance soldiers and pilots), and Force and Destiny (Force-sensitive characters) play at the same table with characters from any book, six careers per book each with three specialization talent trees, narrative dice produce three independent axes of result on every roll so success-with-complications and failure-with-silver-lining are common outcomes, detailed starship combat and ship-modification rules throughout all three books with Force and Destiny extending the system with lightsaber construction and Force power talent trees |
| 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. | Requires proprietary narrative dice or the Star Wars Dice app: standard polyhedral dice need conversion charts and slow play significantly, no free core rules available (Beginner Games exist for each corebook but require purchase), interpreting multi-symbol dice results adds a learning curve compared to standard d20-style resolution, most groups buy only the corebook matching their campaign focus rather than all three |