Ashen Stars vs Lancer
Compare Ashen Stars and Lancer side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ashen Stars | Lancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Tags | Investigation, Mystery, Mission-Based, Ship-Based, Space Opera, Resource Management, Character-Driven, Strong GM Support, Skill-Based, Crunchy | Tactical, Mecha, Character Building, Heroic, Crunchy |
| Core Mechanic | Ordinary tests roll a d6 plus ability-pool points spent before rolling, succeeding by meeting or beating the difficulty. Investigative abilities work differently: a core clue is simply given when the right ability is used, no roll needed, with point spends buying extra benefits. | Narrative scenes use d20 roll-over (10+ succeeds), with backgrounds granting advantage and triggers adding flat bonuses. Mech combat is grid-based and tactical: no initiative, players and NPCs alternate turns. Pilots progress through License Levels (LL0–LL12), unlocking new chassis, weapons, and systems across five manufacturers with 30+ mech frames. |
| Dice | d6 | d20 + d6 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Lancer Third Party License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — GUMSHOE Community on DriveThruRPG | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Pelgrane Press | Massif Press |
| Year | 2011 | 2019 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want episodic space mysteries with a shared ship and recurring personal subplots. Cases put the crew's pursuit of justice in tension with its need to earn a living. | Groups who want deep tactical mech combat with meaningful customization layered on top of accessible narrative play: giant robot enthusiasts seeking a modern alternative to BattleTech. |
| Highlights | Automatic core clues keep missed information rolls from blocking a case. Reputation changes the wait between contracts, connecting ethical choices to the crew's upkeep bill. Ship combat assigns different attack modes to crew stations, spreading decisive actions across specialists. | Free core PDF, extensive mech customization with 30+ frames, clean split between rules-light narrative and crunchy tactical combat, alternating activations remove initiative so both sides stay engaged |
| Considerations | Investigative pools normally refresh only when a case ends, making extra benefits a case-long budget. The rules assume a working Laser crew; fugitive campaigns require changes to that framework. Ship battles use abstract goal-point races rather than positional movement on a tactical map. | Mech combat dominates: narrative half feels thin by comparison, steep learning curve from sheer volume of mech options, genre-locked to sci-fi mech fiction, requires grid/VTT for combat |