Rifts vs Tiny Supers
Compare Rifts and Tiny Supers side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | Tiny Supers | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero | Superhero, Modern, Scifi |
| Tags | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Fast-Paced, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Superpowers, Heroic, Low-Prep |
| 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 2d6 for a Test; any 5 or 6 succeeds. Advantage raises the pool to 3d6, while Disadvantage lowers it to 1d6 and normally takes precedence. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very Low |
| 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. | Gallant Knight Games |
| Year | 2005 | 2019 |
| Languages | English | English, Spanish |
| 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 quick four-color superhero campaigns with flexible power levels and a GM comfortable making consistent rulings. |
| 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. | Tiered Power Traits let the same ability grow in potency without a separate point-buy system. Two-action combat makes Focus and Evade compete with movement and attacks. The GallantVerse and eight micro-verses supply campaign frames for city teams, cosmic defenders, and teen heroes. |
| 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. | The game assigns uncovered situations to consistent GM rulings rather than detailed procedures. Power concepts outside the fixed trait list depend on reskinning or GM-created effects. Advancement is optional and offers a small menu of upgrades. |