Risus vs Tiny Dungeon
Compare Risus and Tiny Dungeon side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Risus | Tiny Dungeon | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Comedy, Low-Prep, Narrative, Fiction-First, Freeform Magic, Tag-Based | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, One-Shot Friendly, Low-Prep, Fast-Paced, Dungeon Crawl, Theater of the Mind, Heroic, Tag-Based |
| Core Mechanic | Characters are defined by Clichés rated in d6s (e.g., Viking (4), Hacker (3)). Roll your Cliché dice vs. a target number or in opposed rolls where the low roller loses a die. | Roll 2d6: if any die shows 5 or 6, you succeed. Advantage grants 3d6; Disadvantage drops you to 1d6. No attributes, no skill list: Traits grant situational Advantage, and weapon Mastery/Proficiency determines combat dice. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 2 of 5 book tools |
| License | Free (non-commercial) | Proprietary (TinyD6) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Big Dice Games | Gallant Knight Games |
| Year | 2021 | 2018 |
| Languages | English | English, Spanish, French, German, Polish |
| Best For | Pick-up games, emergency one-shots, comedy campaigns, or anytime you need a complete RPG in four pages that handles any genre. | Groups wanting fast, minimalist fantasy with almost zero rules overhead: character creation in minutes, core mechanic in one sentence, and tons of optional modules to bolt on. |
| Highlights | Fits on four pages, broadly universal, character creation takes minutes, completely free | Entire core rules fit in ~20 pages, character fits on an index card, huge trait list for customization without complexity, 17 included microsettings, extensive optional rules (martial disciplines, magic schools, ship combat) let you dial complexity up |
| Considerations | Cliché-based resolution can feel one-note over multiple sessions, limited advancement rules, team combat heavily favors larger groups, creating a strong incentive to always combine dice, comedy tone permeates all mechanical language | Binary pass/fail with no degrees of success, fantasy-only (other TinyD6 games cover sci-fi), no built-in advancement by default (optional), very light on tactical depth |