Savage Worlds vs Universalis
Compare Savage Worlds and Universalis side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Savage Worlds | Universalis | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Tags | Cinematic, Fast-Paced, Tactical, Pulp Action, Heroic, Miniatures | GM-Less, Narrative, Collaborative, Worldbuilding, Experimental, Hackable, Tag-Based, Resource Management, Improvisation, Low-Prep |
| Core Mechanic | Roll trait die + wild die (d6), keep the highest. Target number 4. Raises every +4. | There is no GM. Players spend Coins to add to the story: most statements that establish a Fact, such as a new character, a Trait or an Event, cost 1 Coin. A Complication decides who narrates the outcome of a clash between Components controlled by different players. Each involved player builds a pool of d10s by using relevant Traits for free or buying dice for 1 Coin each. Every die showing 1 to 5 is a Success, and the side with more Successes wins. Winners gain Bonus Coins equal to the total on their successful dice and spend them first to narrate the outcome. Losers gain 1 Bonus Coin per die rolled and narrate with whatever the winners have not cancelled. |
| Dice | d4–d12 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Medium |
| License | Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $ |
| Publisher | Pinnacle Entertainment | Ramshead Publishing |
| Year | 2018 | 2006 |
| Languages | English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew | English |
| Best For | Fast-paced pulp action across any genre. Great for large groups and mass combat. | Groups who want to build a setting and story from nothing without a GM, in any genre, and who enjoy bargaining over who decides what happens next. |
| Highlights | Fast resolution, genre-flexible, handles large groups well | Rules Gimmicks are proposed as Tenets for 1 Coin, so a group can add or change rules mid-game the same way it adds story facts. Coins spent defending an established Fact count double when a Challenge goes to bidding, which makes contradicting the shared record more expensive without a referee. Another player can turn an Event into an Obstacle by buying dice against it, so the table supplies difficulty instead of a GM. |
| Considerations | Exploding dice can produce extreme variance in outcomes, setting books vary in depth: some provide minimal mechanical content beyond a genre frame | Control of a character does not carry over between scenes, and creating a character gives no claim to it later. There is no prescribed mechanical ending, so a story runs until the players agree it is finished. Every paid Fact is written down so it can be enforced later, which adds steady bookkeeping to play. |