Agon vs Heartbeats in Perfect Sync
Compare Agon and Heartbeats in Perfect Sync side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Agon | Heartbeats in Perfect Sync | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Historical | Modern, Fantasy |
| Tags | Heroic, Narrative, Rules-Light, Short Sessions, Low-Prep, Mission-Based, Fast-Paced, Cinematic, Tag-Based | Anime, Character-Driven, Cinematic, Collaborative, Drama, Fast-Paced, Rules-Light, Superpowers, Tag-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | All conflicts resolve in a single contested roll. Players assemble a dice pool from relevant traits (Name die, Epithet die, Domain die, Divine Favor), each rated as a step die (d4–d12). Everyone rolls simultaneously; highest result wins. The Strife Player sets opposition with their own dice. Divine Favor grants bonus dice from the gods but is unreliable. Pathos tracks a hero's inner fire: when it runs out, the hero's tale ends. | When an outcome is uncertain, the GM sets a target number of hits. The player rolls a d6 pool equal to their current Heart Rate, and each 5 or 6 counts as a hit. Meeting or beating the target succeeds and lets the player shift their own Heart Rate by one. Beating the target by two or more also lets the player shift other characters' Heart Rates by one per extra hit. Before rolling, a player can invoke an aspect to add two dice, once per session per aspect. |
| Dice | d4–d12 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Low |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Nathan Blades |
| Year | 2020 | 2024 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want fast, competitive mythic Greek adventures with minimal prep: each island is a self-contained session of trials, battles, and divine interference. | Groups who want episodic urban-fantasy action centered on emotional escalation, relationship drama, and coordinated anime-style set pieces. |
| Highlights | Island adventures require zero GM prep: everything needed is in the book, one-roll resolution keeps pace fast, competitive Glory system encourages heroes to outshine each other, Strife Player role rotates so everyone can play a hero | Heart Rate is both the dice pool and an emotional track, so every roll can change how many dice a character brings to the next one. Perfect Sync lets characters on the same Heart Rate combine their pools into one roll, at the cost of their spotlight turns for that round. Heartbreak turns a character into a dark version with a reusable fighting-style aspect that lasts until their Heart Rate climbs back above the maximum. |
| Considerations | Narrow mythic Greek genre with limited setting flexibility, competitive Glory system can frustrate cooperative-minded players, heroes have few mechanical traits to differentiate them, campaign arc is finite: heroes eventually reach their Fate and retire | The default City is deliberately sparse, so groups build most setting detail themselves or begin from the included scenario. The GM sets target hits and decides when a roll is called, so difficulty comes from table judgment rather than a fixed ladder. Perfect Sync requires matching Heart Rates, though optional special moves can align or bypass that requirement. |