Rock & Stone vs Swords & Wizardry
Compare Rock & Stone and Swords & Wizardry side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Rock & Stone | Swords & Wizardry | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Classic Fantasy, Comedy, Dungeon Crawl, Fast-Paced, Heroic, High-Power, Random Tables, Rules-Light, Strong GM Support, Theater of the Mind | Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Deadly, Vancian Casting, Hexcrawl, Random Tables, Resource Management, Sandbox, Domain Management, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | For a test, roll a d20 and add the relevant skill; a total above the GM-set difficulty succeeds, while an exact match succeeds with a complication. Natural 20s and 1s produce especially heroic successes and fatal failures. | Roll a d20 with attack modifiers and meet the target number for the chosen Armor Class system. Ascending Armor Class allows a direct roll against AC; descending Armor Class uses attack tables. Saving throws use a single class-based d20 target number with bonuses against particular hazards. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Paid |
| Runnability | 2 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | AELF Open License Version 1.0a | Swords & Wizardry Compatibility-Statement License (CSL) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — AELF Open License Version 1.0a | Commercial publishing allowed — Swords & Wizardry Compatibility-Statement License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Sebastian Hahn | Mythmere Games |
| Year | 2025 | 2023 |
| Languages | English | English, German |
| Best For | Groups who want a fast, rules-light dungeon crawl about unusually capable dwarven mercenaries, with a compact setting and a ready-to-run starting adventure. | Groups seeking dangerous dungeon expeditions and open wilderness campaigns. Higher-level characters can establish strongholds and govern surrounding settlements. |
| Highlights | Gold committed to the dwarven hoard pays for levels, tying treasure recovery directly to advancement. Archetypes grant selectable active and passive abilities, giving each dwarf a distinct role within the shared skill system. Carousing turns a between-adventure roll into complications and opportunities that can seed later expeditions. | One class-based saving throw target replaces separate hazard categories. Treasure grants experience points, rewarding successful expeditions even when monsters are avoided. Stronghold construction and settlement taxes support campaigns that grow into territorial rule. |
| Considerations | Characters are built around the last-dwarves premise, although the rules permit other heroes. Advancement grants its largest skill and ability gains through level four, after which levels add only hit points and one skill point. Spells are fixed archetype abilities with limited daily uses, so groups seeking open-ended magic will not find it here. | Low starting hit points and death below zero make early combat dangerous. Damage during casting interrupts a prepared spell and expends it. Nonhuman ancestry restricts available classes and level advancement. |