Rifts vs TALES From the Loom
Compare Rifts and TALES From the Loom side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | TALES From the Loom | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Character Building, Collaborative, Crunchy, Deadly, Exploration, Freeform Magic, Journaling, Narrative, Tactical, Worldbuilding |
| 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. | Players roll a pool of d6s and count dice that meet or exceed a success threshold, usually 4+. They compare the successes with a GM-set difficulty rating. Three or more matching results create a WARP on a hit or a WEFT on a miss. The player then describes an extra benefit or a costly success, subject to GM approval. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Proprietary |
| 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. | ||
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Palladium Books Inc. | Jarren Magnell |
| Year | 2005 | 2025 |
| 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 that want deep character customization, collaborative worldbuilding, and a GM comfortable adjudicating player-created magic. |
| 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. | The Weaving system prices player-created spells by tier and effect, giving each caster a distinct magical toolkit. WARPS and WEFTS turn matching dice into player-described benefits or complications, distributing narrative authority when matching results trigger. Reflections reward between-session character journaling with a bonus die on a later non-combat skill roll. |
| 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. | Freeform spell creation requires players and the GM to negotiate effects, costs, and scope. Combat uses abstract range and speed bands, so it does not provide grid-based positioning. Characters die at 0 Wounds by default, although an optional rule permits survival with a permanent reduction. |