RuneQuest vs The Riddle of Steel
Compare RuneQuest and The Riddle of Steel side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| RuneQuest | The Riddle of Steel | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Crunchy, Tactical, Lore-Heavy, Deadly, Character-Driven | Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Deadly, Gritty, Simulation, Crunchy, Character-Driven, Freeform Magic, Classless, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 under your skill percentage. Criticals at 1/20th of skill, specials at 1/5th, fumbles at 95+. Seven characteristics (STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, INT, POW, CHA). Combat uses hit locations (d20) with per-location HP and armor. Strike ranks determine action order. Runes are percentile-rated cosmic affinities that fuel magic and shape personality. Passions (Love, Hate, Honor, Loyalty) augment skills when invoked. | Roll a pool of d10s against a Target Number. Each die that meets or beats it is a success. Skill Tests roll an attribute's dice against the Skill Rating, where lower is better. Melee draws dice from a Combat Pool (Reflex plus Proficiency) that must cover attack and defense across a round's two exchanges. Spiritual Attributes add dice when a roll serves their stated focus. |
| Dice | d100 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Out of print |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Chaosium Inc. | Driftwood Publishing |
| Year | 2018 | 2002 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want deep mythic fantasy where characters are embedded in cults, clans, and cosmic forces: with tactical hit-location combat and a world steeped in decades of lore. | Groups who want deadly, historically grounded melee decided by how fighters split their dice. It suits campaigns the Seneschal builds around each character's passions, drives, and destinies. |
| Highlights | Glorantha is one of the most detailed settings in RPG history, Rune and Passion mechanics tie characters to the mythic world, hit-location combat adds tactical detail, skill-based advancement through use, three distinct magic systems | Secret red-or-white die declarations and Combat Pool splits make each exchange a contest of reading the opponent. Points earned by acting on Spiritual Attributes add dice in play and also pay for advancement, rewarding characters who pursue their convictions. Sorcerers build spells on the fly from nine Vagaries, and each casting risks months of aging. |
| Considerations | Very steep learning curve, tightly coupled to Glorantha setting, combat bookkeeping is heavy, expensive to collect all sourcebooks, dense lore for new players | There are no hit points, and one solid hit can kill a character outright. Sorcery is deliberately unbalanced against fighters, leaving the Seneschal to rein in sorcerer characters. Mass combat gets only an abstract contested Strategy roll, with no dedicated procedures for naval battles or sieges. |