Rifts vs The One Ring
Compare Rifts and The One Ring side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | The One Ring | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Exploration, Licensed IP, Roleplay-Heavy, Low-Fantasy, Journey, Drama, Corruption |
| 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 a Feat Die (d12) plus Success Dice (d6s) equal to skill rating vs. Target Number. Special icons on the Feat Die trigger automatic success or failure, and elvish runes on the d6s grant superior results. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d12 + d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Proprietary (Middle-earth Enterprises license) |
| 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. | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2005 | 2021 |
| 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. | Tolkien fans who want to adventure in Middle-earth with mechanics that capture the tone of the books. |
| 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. | Closely models the tone of Tolkien's world, Hope/Shadow corruption mechanic drives character arcs, well-structured journey and fellowship phases |
| 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. | Tightly bound to Middle-earth setting, limited character options compared to generic systems, requires buy-in to Tolkien's tone |