Savage Worlds vs D&D 5e

This article is part of my “Best Tabletop RPGs of All Time” article. If you want to check out more TTRPGs and see how other tabletop RPGs are ranked, visit that page. In effect, this article is a comparison of Savage Worlds vs D&D 5e (which ranks 1st on the list), as well as other top-tier games.


My Review – 80 / 100

Savage Worlds vs D&D 5e

Savage Worlds is one of the more unique TTRPGs out there as it aims to be playable in all genres: fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, modern, cyberpunk, etc. It has a large cult following, and despite being a relatively newer game (at least compared to DnD), has certainly earned its spot among top tabletop RPGs.

Uniqueness of Savage Worlds: (8/10)

Savage Worlds is in part so unique because it is a cross-genre game. The game is also a classless tabletop RPG, meaning that your character isn’t a knight, wizard, fighter, for example. Instead, you have an assortment of skills, attributes, and abilities unique to you. These various “powers” can be selected through ongoing character advancement.


I also like that players use a deck of cards for initiative in combat. The game features a Wild Die (also known in some games as an exploding dice – i.e. roll 6 on a 6-sided dice and you get to roll that dice again). Players can also gain “Bennies” for good roleplaying that let them re-roll dice, should they choose, under certain circumstances.


Ease of Learning Savage Worlds: (10/10)

It’s pretty easy to get started with Savage Worlds, and the game features pretty easy math (thank god). Your character has stats, skills, hindrances (limitations), and edges (bonuses). Select those 4 sets of character attributes and you’re ready to play. It’s refreshing to play games where characters can be built in under 30 minutes.


Your character’s hindrances and edges especially help define how you might roleplay them. Some hindrances and edges are designed for combat, but many are designed for smaller circumstances which still make for good roleplaying opportunities – things like “jack-of-all-trades” or “anemic.” Interesting character-defining stuff.


Savage Worlds Presentation: (10/10)

The overall presentation of Savage Worlds is very good, and the content is very clear. Referenceable tables are easy to use, and information is easy to find. There are good use of headers in the rulebook and colors to help players quickly find what they need.


This isn’t a huge point, but compared to many tabletop RPG core rulebooks, the Savage World book is exceedingly small – which I enjoy. For instance, other games in this top TTRPGs list have rulebooks over 500 pages. Meanwhile, the Savage Worlds PDF has only 163 pages, front and back cover included.

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Lore of the Game: (3/10)

Because Savage Worlds is a cross-genre RPG, there’s not really any lore provided. The game does give you plenty of ideas to work with, however. So, I went back and forth on scoring this one a bit.


On the one hand, having lore for a game is always nice as it provides players with expectations for how the game “should be,” or “will be played.” On the other hand, having no lore provides players with a great deal of freedom as there are no built-in limitations. 


What it comes down to, for me, is that if the game master in a Savage Worlds game is really dedicated to the game, good at their craft, and if they’re very clear on their concept of the RPG campaign world they’ve built, then having no built-in lore with Savage Worlds is fine. So long as players know what to expect going into the campaign, they can build characters that suit the game, and generally get more out of each gaming session.


However, most game masters don’t do a very good job of providing players clear expectations for their game world, prior to play. Instead, most organically develop campaign expectations over the course of many game sessions, which is typically how things should be.

One of the reasons that most tabletop RPGs provide lore is that it creates a game world that’s inherent and implied to the game, so there’s no need for game masters to detail their game world before a campaign begins. Established lore makes playing the game easier for the game master running the game.


If Savage Worlds did a better job of explaining this kind of concept in their core rulebook I think I’d give this score a higher rating. Since it doesn’t, however… I think the lack of lore is problematic even though there are other TTRPGs out there that also lack an established lore, which I’ve ranked higher in this category.


Combat in Savage Worlds: (5/10)

There are tons of rules in Savage Worlds which outline each specific situation that could arise (which is hard, since the game goes cross-genre). Many of these rules take appearance in the form of the various “powers” you can select for your character. That being said, you can really only “do” what your edges, powers, and sometimes hindrances, allow you.


You don’t get many edges and powers in Savage Worlds, even if you’ve played for a while. So, in my experience, combat comes with relatively few options.


Combat in Savage Worlds is ok. I mostly enjoy it. But I won’t say that it’s “great.” I wouldn’t love playing a massive fight or a dungeon with many battles as a gaming session in Savage Worlds, which is kind of a bummer since those are generally my favorite parts of tabletop RPGs.

Also, I’m not a big fan of classless RPGs like Savage Worlds – in general – because everyone ultimately ends up playing the same sort of character by the end of the game (one who can do everything worth doing). For example, if there are powers of flight, invulnerability, and huge damage attacks, every player will (eventually) get those abilities. Since there are no “class” restrictions, there’s nothing stopping everyone from becoming god-like in every aspect.


t’s a neat concept, but I have still yet to see a great classless RPG in a tabletop RPG format. This results in combat where each character – instead of having roles in the party (from their class) – basically just does a little of everything. I find many tabletop RPGs so much fun because class-based games provide so many specialties within the adventuring party.


Game “Flow”: (6/10)

It’s really simple to start playing Savage Worlds, which is wonderful. Resolutions in the game are also simple, when it comes to skill checks and combat.


The game is rules-light, which certainly helps with the game’s flow. You don’t need to reference a lot of things, so the story moves along quickly.


That beings said, the game almost feels like it doesn’t provide enough, to me, so without a skillful game master (as mentioned above), you’re really in a boat without sails.


If you have a great game master, Savage Worlds really does perform well. But the “game” itself really comes down to the skill and enthusiasm of the game master running it. For that reason, it’s not a game that anyone can pick up easily and really get into the flow and enjoyment of the game.


I’ve had very good Savage World experiences with great game masters. I’ve also had very bad Savage World experiences with new, inexperienced, and lackluster game masters.


All in all, I tend to favor games where new people can pick them up and play very easily. Though that’s certainly something Savage Worlds provides to players, as players, it’s not really something that it provides for game masters (and thus their gaming groups).


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Savage Worlds Artwork: (10/10)

Savage Worlds does an amazing job of covering many genres in a single book. The art is high quality, fits the mood, and shows you all the types of genres in which you can play.


The art is also surprisingly consistent despite crossing genres, which is a big plus.


Ease of Purchase: (9/10)

Savage Worlds is easy to buy on the Pinnacle Entertainment Group site, or on Amazon. There are many supplemental books which can make purchase a little disorienting at first, but it’s quite easy to find what you need for the main game, and supplemental books for any genre in which you want to play.


I really like that Savage Worlds has continued releasing supplemental books over time that cover each genre of play in more depth (fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, modern, cyberpunk, etc.).


If you want to circumvent some of the problems with the game that I mentioned above (difficulty establishing clear expectations for game sessions and too few rules to support new game masters), purchase one of the Savage Worlds supplemental books that fits the genre you want to play. The supplemental books provide a lot of extra options for gaming, and clarifies the world in which your gaming group will be playing, for everyone at the table.


Price & How Many Books Do You Need to Play: (10/10)

Savage worlds has some of the best pricing of any tabletop RPG. There’s a very low cost of entry to game, of which I’m a huge fan.

The rulebooks are also pretty small compared to most tabletop RPGs, so even the printed books are very accessible in terms of price.


Fame & Availability of Supplemental Material: (9/10)

There all kinds of supplemental books for each genre in which you might want to play Savage Worlds. I consider these supplemental books vital for the type of genre you want to get into.


The main problem with the main game is that it’s a little thin/ small since it covers every conceivable genre out there. It hits everything, but in a mediocre sort of way. The Savage World supplements, in turn, flesh out those genres in much greater (and much more satisfying) detail.


In terms of finding other people to game with, many people play Savage Worlds and really enjoy the game, so you shouldn’t have much trouble. Just be sure to purchase the right supplemental book for your chosen Savage Worlds genre, and be sure to clearly communicate the game world with your group prior to play.


Savage Worlds is Produced By:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group


Jacob Tegtman Eternity TTRPG Creator

Jacob Tegtman

Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed my article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.


I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.


If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.

Jacob Tegtman Eternity TTRPG Creator

Jacob Tegtman

Dear reader, I hope you enjoyed my article. Tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine since I was 6 years old. I've played just about every game from Dungeons and Dragons to video games like Final Fantasy. These games have inspired me, made me laugh, made me cry, and brought me endless hours of enjoyment.


I started Eternity TTRPG - and the indie tabletop game that goes along with it (Eternity Shop) - to share my love of gaming with others. I believe that in our technology-driven age, tabletop games help bring a sense of magic and community back into our world.


If you love the site, please share it with others! I have lots of gaming-related material for you to peruse and use in your own gaming sessions. If you have any questions about the site or want to contribute, just send me a message using the "Contact" page, which you can find in the site's footer.

Woman in blue shirt speaking in a room with shelves of books, figurines, and a plush toy behind her.
By Jacob Tegtman • October 27, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjh_PsRn3o Transcription Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG YouTube channel, where we talk about the world of Eternity as well as other tabletop role-playing games, D&D, and all the stuff in the genre that we can find. So this go around, ~I know it's been a little while since we posted, but ~I wanted to go ahead and just do something that I think everyone can get behind, which is talking about monsters that you find in tabletop role-playing games. ~Um, ~you're obviously gonna have your classic monsters that you see in D&D, and then we can just branch out from there, right? So reason this is coming up is that with the Sparks of Eternity Emanation, ~um, ~which is going really well, it's where you have your different classes, ~um, ~fighting each other to a duel to the end, right? ~And that's been great. It's been going great. ~We have a lot more classes in the works, but we were wondering, well, what could be next? And that's when you start looking at, like, armor, races, monsters, ~um, ~and, like, items and stuff, right? Because that's what makes a campaign happen is when you add all [00:01:00] of these things in. ~Um, ~so with that in mind, we started thinking monsters. ~Instead of having this PVP experience, we're talking, we're looking at more of a cooperative experience ~So now we're thinking classic monsters, and that has got to be the most classic of them are all is gonna be dragons, right? ' Cause you have anywhere from your dragon with the wings, fiery breath, always guarding something, guarding their pile of gold, or holding someone captive, or something like that. You're always gonna find that in any kind of mythology, lore, D&D campaign. Like, it's just... It's your classic thing. So how can we take this classic thing and switch it up a little bit? And this is where we started to wonder with our game design where to go, and we're still fleshing that out. ~Um, but I see great things in the works with it, right?~ Taking a classic thing and going a different direction. ~Um, ~other classic thing when you think of D&D monsters has got to be the mimic. ~Um, ~so that is, of course, [00:02:00] gonna be your shape-changing predator, right? You're going through a dungeon, you find a treasure chest, you think it's a normal chest, and turns out it's a mimic and it's trying to bite your face off. ~Total classic thing. Um, ~so how can we change this up? Is there a way to change up this D&D thing? ~Um, ~with that, my mind goes to what other inanimate objects can it become. Is it always gonna be your treasure chest, or could it be a table in the room? Or perhaps a weapon next to a, ~um, ~next to a skeleton, right? Because then you get this idea of, well, what if this, ~uh, ~sword just starts wielding on its own. ~Anyway, cool thought. But, you know, I just... ~It's fun to take things that you think are one way and just shift them completely, and I think that what... That is what makes the entire genre of tabletop role-playing so great is that we do take these different ideas, expand them, change them, and create something new. Eternity TTRPG has released a card game battler [00:03:00] which emulates combat from the tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities which everyone plays at the same time so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our sales page live now, packed with details. ~Um, ~other D&D classic things has got to be the beholder. ~Um, you know, ~your floating eye with random tentacles coming off of it, right? That's what I think of when I think of a beholder. And I feel like that is used so much to depict what D&D is, and when I see that, all I think is D&D. I never go to anything else. So with those thoughts in mind, we have been trying to decide does [00:04:00] the world of Eternity, Sparks of Eternity, have a monster that just defines Eternity Or do we have, you know, an art style that defines it or, you know, ~just, ~just something that makes it different. And, you know, as always, I'm behind the scenes 'cause I get to be with the game maker and see all of his, ~uh, ~gears rotating, right? ~So I see things coming. I'm very excited to share those eventually. I do see that coming down the line. Um, ~but in the meantime, drop any ideas for monsters that you have below that you want to see, that you have seen, any ideas, just something. You know, use it as a giant brainstorming session. ~Um, ~as always, like, comment, subscribe. Let us know how we're doing. Give me any ideas you wanna see for upcoming news and we'll catch y'all next time.
By Jacob Tegtman • October 23, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzrUgzvlYE0 Transcription Welcome back to Eternity TT RPG YouTube channel, where I talk about different happenings in the tabletop role-playing universe from D&D to the game that my husband and I have been creating. Um, if you follow the channel, you know that we did come out with a card game combat tabletop role-playing game, and it's awesome. I'm super happy with it. I think we all are. Um, but as great as the physical game is, right, we wanted to expand. So we have it online now. And in this video, I'm just gonna walk you through how to get there, um, what you see, and a quick rundown of how to play. Um, so please, uh, take the time to check out the game and we'll jump right in. So to get to the website, um, that holds the online version of [00:01:00] Emanation, you're gonna go to play.sparksofeternity.com and from there it is gonna open up with a screen asking for your email and if there's any name that you want, like, the game to call you, um, your username, and that's it. You don't need a password. You don't need a credit card. You don't need anything. It is just good to go. And then this is the screen that you get. Um, I am just gonna go ahead and run you through everything that you see, and I may start a game as well. So everybody's, um, system is gonna open up with the assassin, um, the first character alphabetically. And you'll notice at the top that you're gonna have a few different other classes: berserker, druid, judge, oracle, and summoner. Um, at this point in time, players, you and I can only play the assassin, berserker, druid, and summoner. We are currently having just the computers play as the judge and oracle. Um, at some point, we are [00:02:00] going to open those up. We're just not there yet. So on this screen, it gives you a rundown of, like, who the assassin is, um, and how many life sparks they start with, your hit points, if they're more of a tactic player, a magic player, or a mix, um, how many of the cards take a D20 roll for that tabletop role-playing feel. And not to mention you have the amazing art for it, um, that tries to depict more of what the class is Um, other thing that you're gonna end up seeing is that it tells you, like, the cards that you get as you go. So you're always gonna start with your attack, defend, no action. And then for assassin specifically, you do have lethality. But then you can scroll over and you can see all of the abilities for each class so you kind of know what you're getting into before you play, which is really neat if you ask me to get a better feel for it before [00:03:00] you even jump into a game. Um, as far as jumping into a game, there's two different ways to do it right now. You can, um, play against computers or you can share the website with a friend, start a new room, and it's gonna give you a code like this. So you would send that code off to your friend, they would input the code and then they would choose, like, their character and off you go. Um, whatever character you have up here selected is the character you're gonna end up playing. Um, for the sake of just showing you guys, I am gonna do the assassin. Um, and then let's say you don't have any friends to play with, which, you know, I don't always have friends, but that's okay. You can add computer players. So I'm gonna add like three players and then I can pick what they are. So I'm okay with the judge, oracle and [00:04:00] berserker. That all sounds good. And then this last spot here is gonna be how long you want everyone to have to choose their ability or like their action for each turn. Um, when you're just getting started and learning the game, I do recommend more towards like the two or three minutes. Of course, if you don't take that long, the game will just continue anyway. Like if everybody's selected it'll just move on. But if you need that time to read and understand, then please take more time. Um, for, you know, my sake and knowing the game, I'm gonna go with 60 seconds and then we just start the match with four players So now we're on turn one. I do have a countdown timer up in this corner telling me how much time I have left. It does do a turn counter for me. This turn will always be turn zero because you are like a level zero character in the world. You're level zero with combat, you have no actions, you're not a fully fledged whatever class you [00:05:00] are, right? So this turn I am gonna go with defend. It shows me a little bit better and I hit play it. So now everybody's thing is gonna show and they're just gonna run through everything that happens. I am not clicking anything right now, it's just doing its thing. So they all attacked each other. I'm defending. It gives me a quick rundown down here of what happens, what abilities they're gaining, and then it tells you like what happened with health as well, which I think is really cool. Now I am level one. I now have access to assassinate and it also shows me what my other opponents are gaining down below. And now I can choose stuff to play. I'm gonna go ahead and do the assassinate one, which includes rolling a D20. We're gonna play it And now healing will always take priority. So that is what ha- is happening there. And then they decided to attack. They have a passive going on, so that [00:06:00] just got rolled. And now I'm gonna roll to assassinate. I didn't hit, so I won't select a target And now they're just finishing up anything that needs to resolve and onto the next round. So as you can see, it runs really quickly, um, which is just... I think it's great, you know? I think getting to have a feel for the game and see what's going on is just really neat. Um, other thing to note as you get further in the game, you're gonna notice, like, this person now has dual wield. If I scroll over that, I see what it is. It is a passive for them. Um, and that means that it gets rolled every turn and, um, we just gotta see if they hit every turn unless somebody dispels it. Um, or in this case, this one is immune to greater dispel. You can see that at the very bottom. You'll also notice that these little cards at the top right appeared, meaning that my opponents have already picked their cards and they're waiting on me. [00:07:00] Um, I think we're just gonna try to assassinate again 'cause, you know, I'm an assassin. I think that's great. So healing takes place first again. Healing takes place first and now they're doing the rest of their actions. They're rolling their passives And then I'll try to assassinate. Man, the rolls are bad. Um, and then everything else resolves. It goes over what people are gaining, and we go on to the next round. So this goes on for 10 rounds as far as like gaining different abilities, but the game ends at round 20. Um, by round 20, you're looking for, you know, um, being the last man standing or having the most life sparks at the end of the whole game. So that is a quick rundown on how the online game works. I think it's really neat that we do [00:08:00] have the, you know, physical version of it, and now we have an online version. It's crazy to see how quick it's all coming together. Um, I'll drop the link to this down below, so hopefully you guys, uh, decide to check it out. Let us know any questions, comments, concerns. Like and subscribe, and we will catch y'all next time. Thank you
October 19, 2026
Transcribed content from our recent YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_l3hijcNcI Transcription [00:00:00] Welcome back to Eternity TTRPG YouTube channel, where I go over different things in the tabletop role-playing universe from the game that my husband and I cr- are creating, to D&D, to goodness knows what, right? Um, this go around, I am going to talk about common mistakes you find from new players or longtime players when you're playing D&D. Now, keep in mind, I have only played D&D once or twice. Um, I personally was not a fan of the system. However, these are just common mistakes you can find in just about any tabletop role-playing game when you're just getting started. So I thought they were kind of relevant. Um, so we're just gonna hop right in, and I may rapid-fire these. So common mistake number one is thinking that a nat 20 succeeds at absolutely everything. So this one I find really funny, actually, because you would [00:01:00] think that with the best dice roll, you could do anything, right? Um, turns out you can't. So as far as combat goes, um, a nat 20, it'll always automatically hit. You'll always do damage. There's no question about that when it comes to combat. However, when you're starting to look at, um, ability checks, and you're in these different, um, situations that don't involve combat, a nat 20 does not mean much. So it comes down to your DM and what your DM decides. For example, let's say that you are trying to persuade a king to hand over his whole kingdom, right? And you roll a nat 20, and you're thinking, "Yes, I did it. I have a kingdom now." And DM's like, "Uh, no, you don't." The king may be more likely to put you in a place of power in the kingdom, but he's not gonna hand over everything. [00:02:00] Um , so that just ... It all comes down to the DM regardless of what you're rolling. Um, so that is something to keep in mind, and don't get overexcited about your, uh, rolls. Never get excited about them, honestly, unless it's combat, so keep that in mind. Eternity TTRPG has released a card game battler which emulates combat from the tabletop role-playing genre. Sparks of Eternity Emanation is fast-paced, easy to learn, and features six classes from your favorite TTRPGs. Each class deck comes with its own set of unique abilities, which everyone plays at the same time, so there's never any downtime at your table. Each turn, everyone's characters levels up, giving players access to even more options. If you're interested in taking a look, we have our sales page live now, packed with details Other mistake that I find very interesting that happens a lot is forgetting that [00:03:00] your proficiency in different skills matters. Um, so when I go to build a character, I just build something that's fun and cool, and I don't really care about the stats, and that's probably something that I personally need to change. But I imagine that if I'm like that, I may not be the only one. Um, so whenever you're rolling in D&D combat or ability checks, you do add your proficiency bonuses, right? So it's almost never just the dice roll. Um , so you really should be paying attention to your proficiency, and if you wanna be someone that is really sneaky, for example, then you need to look at your proficiency in stealth because you can't be sneaky without a high proficiency in stealth. So definitely something to think about when you're building a character. Um, another Mistake that's pretty common is trying to maintain two concentration spells. Um, so [00:04:00] the misconception is that you can have one already running and you can cast another and you can maintain both. Um, actual rule in D&D is you can only concentrate one effect at a time. Um, that is very odd to me just because as a normal human being, we are able to multitask. I mean, maybe not well, but we can. Um, so that is one thing that I personally do like about the tabletop role-playing game that my husband and I are creating is that you can have multiple things that you're concentrating, um, as long as you have the proficiency to do so. But anyway, D&D doesn't do that, so don't do it. Um, let's see. Um, let's see. Um, other thing that comes up pretty often is that thinking your turn when you go to do any kind of combat is just for attacking. So this ... We talk about [00:05:00] combat, right? And all you think of is attacking your opponent, but it's really outdoing your opponent, outthinking them, and you can do other things like dodging, dashing, disengaging, hiding, searching, um, and helping others in your party, right? You don't just have to attack the boss. You can do more. So something to think about, right? Um, okay. This is a mistake that I find in every tabletop role-playing game, and maybe it's not even a mistake. Maybe it's just how people are. But I struggled with this extremely. I still struggle with it, is that to play a role-playing game, you think you have to be a professional, like a professional actor. Uh, truth is, you don't. You really don't. You can just use your normal voice. You can, like, have your normal personality. You can just put you on the paper. And that is what I did for multiple campaigns when I first started doing this kind of stuff [00:06:00] with any tabletop role-playing game. So keep that in mind. You don't need to be anything special. You don't even need to know anything. You don't have to know a single thing about the tabletop role-playing universe. Just write stuff down. Just write it down. Try your best. Call it good. You don't have to be perfect. Okay. So with all of that, like I said, rapid fire things, misconceptions, mistakes that we see in D&D and other tabletop role-playing universes. What is something that you thought before you started playing or even as you're playing or even that you see other people do that is a misconception or mistake when in your tabletop role-playing universes? Drop a comment below. Let me know. Also, let us know how we're doing. Like, comment, subscribe, and keep it going.
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