Savage Worlds vs The Elf Game
Compare Savage Worlds and The Elf Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Savage Worlds | The Elf Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Cinematic, Fast-Paced, Tactical, Pulp Action, Heroic, Miniatures | Rules-Light, Beginner-Friendly, Hackable, Descending AC |
| Core Mechanic | Roll trait die + wild die (d6), keep the highest. Target number 4. Raises every +4. | Assign six ability scores rolled on 3d6, then resolve any uncertain action by rolling a D20 and subtracting your adjustments. A result at or under the relevant Ability Score succeeds, and a higher result fails. A natural 1 always succeeds and a natural 20 always fails. Attacks use the same roll-under method, subtracting a Melee or Ranged score and comparing the total to the target's Armor Class. |
| Dice | d4–d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild | Public Domain |
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Pinnacle Entertainment | S&A Baudelaire |
| Year | 2018 | 2025 |
| Best For | Fast-paced pulp action across any genre. Great for large groups and mass combat. | Groups who want a free, pick-up-and-play system for a first RPG or a one-shot, especially tables happy to supply their own spells or borrow rules from other old-school games. |
| Highlights | Fast resolution, genre-flexible, handles large groups well | Ability tests and attacks both roll a D20 under a target number, so players learn a single resolution method and apply it to skills, combat, and saving throws alike. A character picks a class and a stance independently, so Fighter or Tradesman combined with Magical or Mundane yields several distinct builds from a tiny ruleset. Characters advance only from Level 0 to Level 3 by Referee fiat, so there is no experience economy to track. |
| Considerations | Exploding dice can produce extreme variance in outcomes, setting books vary in depth: some provide minimal mechanical content beyond a genre frame | Advancement caps at Level 3, so extended campaigns quickly run out of mechanical growth. Spells are named but never detailed on the rules sheet, so magical characters draw their actual spell effects from the Referee or compatible outside material. Every uncertain action is a single Ability Test with no fixed difficulty tiers, so how hard a task is depends on which ability the Referee calls for rather than a set target number. |