When comparing Risus vs Heroes Against Darkness, the Slant community recommends Risus for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Risus is ranked 12th while Heroes Against Darkness is ranked 33rd. The most important reason people chose Risus is:
Risus has a very minimalist rule system that breaks down all actions to their core function. Risus comes with a super short, four page rulebook (available in many forms and formats) that's easy to read, includes examples and has a bit of humor thrown in to make the process or learning more enjoyable.
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Pros
Pro Can be taught in less than 10 minutes
Risus has a very minimalist rule system that breaks down all actions to their core function. Risus comes with a super short, four page rulebook (available in many forms and formats) that's easy to read, includes examples and has a bit of humor thrown in to make the process or learning more enjoyable.
Pro Very flexible rules
Risus is not confined to a selection of pre-defined character-classes, settings or abilities. Characters are described via clichés such as Witch Doctor, Gambler, Musician with a number of dice assigned to each cliché that are then used in challenges that relate to the appropriate cliché.
Pro A large following that provides a lot of content
A large amount of adventures, artwork, characters, clichés as well as optional rules can be found for Risus. An excellent resource for all aforementioned things as well as many others is Risusiverse, a fan-made website of all things Risus.
Pro Focuses on simplicity
The game uses a single "d20 + modifier ≥ target" mechanic for everything. Characters can be created in less than 5 minutes. The writing is concise and clear.
Pro Deep, without being cluttered
A lot of meta-tools such as templates, etc, that make combat encounters incredibly simple to construct. Great tools for creature-building. A lot of good information on world-building. You can make any type of game efficiently, from hack-and-slash to role-playing. If you have played in a D&D campaign, this is a great choice for your first outing as a GM.
Cons
Con Little guidance can be found for GMs and players
Some prior understanding of how an RPG is played and what is the role of the GM is required as the rules cover only the very core of the system.
Con Requries prior knowledge of RPGs to completely understand
Some knowledge will be required to understand the rules as there are some unexplained conventions that are presumed to be understood.