Tales of the Valiant vs Those Who Wander
Compare Tales of the Valiant and Those Who Wander side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Tales of the Valiant | Those Who Wander | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Heroic, Character Building, High-Fantasy, Tactical | Heroic, High-Fantasy, Character Building, Classless, Tactical, Worldbuilding, Vancian Casting, Crunchy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifier against a target number or opposed check. Uses the core 5e framework: six ability scores, proficiency bonus, advantage/disadvantage. Adds a Talent system for additional character customization, reorganizes spells into numbered Circles, and introduces new Heritages and Lineages for character creation. | Roll d20 + ability bonus + proficiency bonus against a Difficulty Score. Abilities use direct modifiers (−1 to +5) instead of base scores, removing a calculation step from every roll. Character progression replaces classes and levels with a 20-step path: at each step you choose between two or more diverging features, and prerequisites gate later options. |
| Dice | d20 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 (Black Flag Reference Document) | Proprietary (free Essential Rules quickstart) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Kobold Press | Gnome Made Games |
| Year | 2024 | 2022 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want to continue playing 5e-style fantasy with backwards-compatible adventures but prefer an independent publisher with new heritages, talents, and spell circle organization. | Groups familiar with d20 fantasy who want deeper character customization, inclusive design covering any parentage pairing and accessibility for disabled characters, and long campaigns where each hero's 20-step path diverges from the rest of the party. |
| Highlights | Fully backwards-compatible with 5e adventures and supplements, Talent system adds character customization beyond subclass choice, spell Circles streamline spell level organization, backed by Kobold Press's extensive monster and adventure catalog | Parentage system inherits traits from any two birth parents across 15 peoples (dwarven, elven, human, halfling, avian, celestial, draconic, genie, gnoll, gnomish, goblin, kobold, infernal, orc, plus Complex Parentage) for hundreds of pairing combinations. Accessibility rules treat Blind and Deaf characters as mechanically viable heroes and integrate prosthetics and wheelchairs as part of the character. The 20-step branching progression replaces classes and levels: each step is a choice between two or more features that gate further specializations. Awakening heirlooms (weapons, armor, trinkets) gain new properties as characters take steps, growing in power and personality alongside their owner. |
| Considerations | Very similar to 5e: groups satisfied with existing 5e rules may not find enough differentiation, still building its own identity separate from D&D, Monster Vault sold separately | 477-page rulebook with substantial mechanical innovation in character creation requires significant reading before a first session. No adventures are included in the core rules: GMs must design their own scenarios or source from d20-compatible content. The steps system departs from familiar level/class structure, so players coming from d20 fantasy must learn a new progression model. No native rolled initiative: the storyteller chooses one of four ability-based turn-order methods at the start of each combat. |