Rifts vs Vaesen
Compare Rifts and Vaesen side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Rifts | Vaesen | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic, Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, Superhero | Horror |
| Tags | Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gonzo, High-Power, Mana Points, Mecha, Superpowers, Tactical | Investigation, Narrative, Atmospheric, Mystery, Character-Driven, Gritty, Deadly |
| 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 d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Push your roll to reroll failures but take a Condition (Exhausted, Wounded, Frightened, Hopeless). Mysteries follow a structured investigation format. Between mysteries, upgrade your shared headquarters. |
| Dice | d20, d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very High | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Year Zero Engine OGL |
| 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 | 2025 |
| Languages | English | English, Swedish, German, Italian, Spanish, French |
| 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. | Investigation-focused Nordic horror campaigns where players uncover folklore mysteries, confront tragic mythological creatures, and build up a shared headquarters between cases. |
| 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. | Strong atmosphere and thematic design, structured mystery format keeps investigations focused, push mechanic creates tension, headquarters upgrades add campaign investment |
| 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. | Investigation success is heavily GM-dependent, narrow 19th century Nordic horror focus, dice system can feel too simple for complex mysteries, information layout can be hard to navigate |