Tales of the Valiant vs D&D 5e: Which Should You Play?

Introduction

Tales of the Valiant (ToV) is Kobold Press's fantasy d20 game. A group familiar with 2014 D&D 5e will recognize much of its table language, but ToV is not a character-sheet reskin. Its Player's Guide changes how a character is assembled, how spell access is organized, and how a failed roll can become a later resource.

The useful question is not "which game is better?" It is "which set of choices does this table want to make?" This guide compares the parts that matter during character creation and play. For exact ToV rules, use the current Player's Guide and the relevant class guide rather than treating a 5e memory as a rules citation.

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What a 5e Player Will Recognize

ToV retains a familiar d20 fantasy rhythm. Characters have the six ability scores, a proficiency bonus, checks, attacks, saving throws, hit dice, rests, conditions, and turns with actions, bonus actions, and reactions. The Player's Guide also uses advantage and disadvantage, and its basic check formula is d20 plus an ability modifier and any relevant proficiency bonus.

That shared vocabulary makes a first session easier to follow. It does not mean every similar-looking rule is identical. When a decision affects a build, read the ToV entry for that class, spell, Talent, or condition.

The original Player's Guide presents thirteen base classes: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Mechanist, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. Player's Guide 2 adds the Theurge, Vanguard, and Witch as optional base classes. The familiar names are a useful starting point; their feature schedules and options are ToV rules.

Key Differences: Classes

Improvements Are Class-Specific Choices

Many ToV classes gain Improvements at levels shown in their class table. An Improvement commonly offers the familiar ability-score choices: increase one ability by 2, or two different abilities by 1. Some class entries also offer a third choice: increase one ability by 1 and choose a Talent from a named list.

The crucial word is some. The Player's Guide gives the Barbarian a Martial Talent option and the Bard a Technical Talent option, for example. Do not use a generic rule such as "martials receive Martial Talents and casters receive Magic Talents." Check the exact class or subclass feature before planning a build.

Boons Give High-Level Characters a Real Choice

The core class tables include Heroic and Epic Boon milestones. Those choices are part of the class progression, not a universal bonus that can be copied between classes. If a campaign expects to reach high levels, compare the specific class's boons before selecting it; they are a meaningful part of its final shape.

The Mechanist Is Its Own Class

The Mechanist is an Intelligence-based maker, inventor, and engineer. Its Player's Guide progression centers on the Shard of Creation and Augment features. It can appeal to a player looking for an inventive character, but it is not a one-to-one replacement for a 5e Artificer. Start with the Mechanist guide and class entry instead of importing another class's feature expectations.

Subclasses Need a Class-by-Class Check

ToV class and subclass structure is intentionally legible, but a comparison page should not flatten every class into one timing rule. Use the class table and subclass entry for the actual level and choices. That keeps a conversion conversation honest and prevents an attractive but inaccurate promise from steering a new player.

Key Differences: Spellcasting

Four Sources Organize ToV Magic

The Player's Guide sorts spells into four magic sources:

• Arcane: used by classes such as Bard, Sorcerer, and Wizard.
• Divine: used by Cleric and Paladin.
• Primordial: used by Druid and Ranger.
• Wyrd: used by Warlock.

Player's Guide 2 extends that structure: the Theurge uses Arcane and Divine magic, while the Witch uses Wyrd magic. The source is only the first question. Each class still says whether it knows or prepares spells, whether it has cantrips or rituals, and how its spell progression works.

The Bard is a useful example. At 1st level, a Bard selects four spells: three Arcane spells and one spell from any source, which then counts as Arcane for that Bard. That is a specific Bard rule, not a blanket permission for every Arcane caster.

Circles and Rituals

ToV calls spell tiers circles. Cantrips and rituals do not use spell slots, but rituals take at least a minute to cast. The class entry determines whether a character can cast rituals and how many it knows. A Bard, for example, has its own ritual progression and can choose an initial ritual from any source. Do not assume that every caster has the same ritual access.

Sourcebooks Add Options With GM Approval

ToV sourcebooks can add spells, lineages, heritages, Talents, subclasses, and other options. Player's Guide 2 explicitly treats its additions as optional content that a group should approve together. Apply that same table conversation to any setting book: identify the source, the spell source or option category, and the class rule that grants access.

Key Differences: Lineage and Heritage

ToV makes Lineage and Heritage separate character choices. Lineage covers inherited and physical traits. Heritage describes cultural upbringing and provides its own benefits. A Background is a third, separate part of character creation.

That lets a player combine a Dwarf, Human, Elf, or another lineage with a Heritage such as Cosmopolitan, Fireforge, or Wildlands. Choose each piece for its own rules text and for the character's story, rather than expecting one ancestry package to supply every trait.

Expansion material uses the same model. The ToV expansion lineages guide and heritage guide collect options from setting books without turning them into mandatory core choices.

Key Differences: Talents

ToV divides Talents into Magic, Martial, and Technical lists. They provide character customization, but access is not a simple class label. A Background can grant a listed Talent, and a particular class or subclass Improvement can name a list from which to choose.

When choosing a Talent, use this order:

1. Read the Background, class, or subclass feature that grants the choice.
2. Confirm the allowed Talent list in that feature.
3. Read the Talent's prerequisites and complete rules text.
4. Check with the GM before using optional sourcebook material.

The Magic Talents, Martial Talents, and Technical Talents guides are useful indexes, but the character's actual permission comes from the feature granting the Talent.

Combat Difference: Luck

Luck is one of ToV's clearest table-level changes. Every player character starts at 0 Luck. Once per turn, failing an attack roll or a saving throw grants 1 Luck. The GM can also award Luck for clever ideas, strong roleplay, interesting non-optimal choices, difficult encounters, or story goals.

Luck normally caps at 5. If a character at 5 would gain more, they roll a d4 and reset their Luck total to that result. Players can spend Luck one-for-one to increase any check, or spend 3 immediately after making a check to reroll the d20 used for it. It cannot turn a natural 1 into a critical success or create a critical hit by reaching 20, and Luck from a failed attack or save cannot improve that same roll.

Weapon Options Are Not a Universal Action List

The Player's Guide includes Weapon Options, and particular features tell a character when and how they can use them. Fighters receive Martial Action, while other access can come from a specific feature. Read the weapon, option, and class feature together before assuming every character can use the same maneuver.

Choosing a System for Your Table

Tales of the Valiant is a strong fit when:

• Your group wants its Lineage, Heritage, Background, Talent, and Luck systems to shape character choices.
• A spellcaster wants source-based spell organization and is willing to read the class's own access rules.
• You are beginning a new campaign or are happy to do a deliberate conversion from existing material.
• You want optional sourcebook material to be part of a shared session-zero agreement.

Staying with 2014 D&D 5e is reasonable when:

• The campaign relies on existing characters, books, adventures, or organized-play rules that the group wants to use unchanged.
• A player wants a specific 5e class, subclass, or feature rather than a ToV class with a similar theme.
• The group does not want to review conversion decisions for spells, monsters, equipment, or optional player options.

Neither choice needs a sales pitch. The best result is a table that agrees on its ruleset before character creation and lets every player make choices from the same approved books.

Hot Takes

Hot Take: The Bard's one any-source spell at 1st level is a better comparison point than a broad claim that all Arcane casters play alike. It shows how ToV combines a shared source structure with class-specific exceptions.

Hot Take: Luck is most interesting when it changes the group's habits, not when it rescues a single roll. The cap and reset rule push players to spend it, while GM awards make the table's preferred risks visible.

Hot Take: A clean switch starts with a session-zero book list. Sourcebook options are more fun when every player knows which optional material is on the table before a build depends on it.

Final Takeaway

ToV will be familiar to many 2014 5e players, but its character options and resource rules deserve to be learned on their own terms. Compare the exact class progression, spell source access, Talent permission, and optional books that your table plans to use. If those systems match what the group wants, ToV offers a coherent starting point; if the group wants its existing 5e material unchanged, staying with that campaign is the cleaner call.

For a next step, browse the ToV class guides, spell guides, lineage guides, and Talent guides before committing to a build.