Rolemaster vs The Witcher TRPG
Compare Rolemaster and The Witcher TRPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Rolemaster | The Witcher TRPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Simulation, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Character Building, Gritty, Deadly, Roll to Cast, Mana Points, Hackable | Crunchy, Combat-Heavy, Tactical, Character Building, Skill-Based, Social Combat, Dark Fantasy, Gritty, Deadly, Licensed IP |
| Core Mechanic | Most rolls are d100 open-ended: 96–00 is rolled again and added, and a first roll of 01–05 is rolled again and subtracted. A maneuver adds the skill bonus and a difficulty modifier, and a total of 101 or higher succeeds. Some maneuvers allow partial success or partial progress on lower totals. An attack roll opens upward only, adds Offensive Bonus, subtracts the target's Defensive Bonus, and is read on the weapon's attack table in the column for the target's Armor Type. A hit gives damage and sometimes a critical, resolved by a separate d100 roll on a critical table. | Roll a d10 and add the relevant statistic and skill. You succeed by exceeding the difficulty or the opposing roll. Natural 10s add another roll, while natural 1s subtract another roll from the statistic and skill total. |
| Dice | d100 | d10 |
| Complexity | Very High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | Noncommercial only — Publisher homebrew policy |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Iron Crown Enterprises | R. Talsorian Games |
| Year | 2022 | 2018 |
| Languages | English | English, Polish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian |
| Best For | Groups who want a long fantasy campaign with granular character building and combat where weapon, armor, and each wound carry mechanical weight. It suits tables comfortable resolving attacks and injuries through table lookups. | Groups who want dangerous Witcher adventures with detailed character options. |
| Highlights | Armor Type selects the column on each attack table, so armor changes both the damage a blow delivers and the total needed to score a critical. Profession sets what each skill rank costs, so a Fighter can still take magical skills at a higher cost. Spell Law organizes magic into 171 lists of 25 spells, and a caster buys ranks in a list to reach its higher-level spells. | Nine professions develop through branching skill trees. Monster knowledge helps characters prepare equipment against specific vulnerabilities. An optional verbal combat system gives social conflicts their own resolve track. |
| Considerations | Core Law and Spell Law have no bestiary or treasure tables, which Core Law assigns to the separate Creature Law and Treasure Law volumes. Resolving one attack can take an attack-table lookup, a critical roll, and tracking of bleeding, stun, and injury penalties. Without magical healing, injuries can take days or longer to recover, and Core Law advises scheduling significant downtime between combat sessions. | Combat combines several calculations and reference tables. Critical wounds can leave lasting penalties even after treatment. Graphic violence and social prejudice are central to the setting. |