Savage Worlds vs Vagabond
Compare Savage Worlds and Vagabond side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Savage Worlds | Vagabond | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Fantasy |
| Tags | Cinematic, Fast-Paced, Tactical, Pulp Action, Heroic, Miniatures | Fast-Paced, Character Building, Dungeon Crawl, Sandbox, Heroic, Pulp Action, Solo-Friendly, Player-Only Rolls, Mana Points |
| Core Mechanic | Roll trait die + wild die (d6), keep the highest. Target number 4. Raises every +4. | Roll d20 vs. Difficulty (20 − Stat, doubled if Trained). Crit on nat 20, fail below Difficulty. All rolls player-facing. Spend Luck for Advantage (Favor) or rerolls (Fluke). Three saves: Endure (MIT×2), Reflex (DEX+AWR), Will (RSN+PRS). Defend with Block or Dodge on off-turns. Mana-based magic scales one spell from cantrip to nuke. Enemy AI action gambits run monsters for the GM. |
| Dice | d4–d12 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 1 of 5 book tools |
| License | Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild | Open Compatibility |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Pinnacle Entertainment | Land of the Blind |
| Year | 2018 | 2024 |
| 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 wanting modern character depth married to old-school speed: 20+ ancestries, 17 classes, non-Vancian mana magic, and built-in solo/co-op/guided play. |
| Highlights | Fast resolution, genre-flexible, handles large groups well | Mana-based magic scales a single spell from cantrip to high-powered effect, so casters shape output on the fly instead of tracking fixed spell slots. Enemy action gambits run monsters from decision tables, removing per-turn tactical choices from the GM's workload. A spendable Luck pool buys Advantage or rerolls, turning swing into a resource players ration across a session. |
| Considerations | Exploding dice can produce extreme variance in outcomes, setting books vary in depth: some provide minimal mechanical content beyond a genre frame | Dense class and ancestry options can overwhelm new players. Pulp-fantasy tone limits grimdark play. All rolls are player-facing, so the GM never rolls dice and every check rests on the players. |