BESM vs Fate Core
Compare BESM and Fate Core side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| BESM | Fate Core | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Character Building, Cinematic, Heroic, Pulp Action, Anime | Narrative, Rules-Light, Collaborative, Cinematic, Improvisation, Theater of the Mind, Low-Prep, Roleplay-Heavy, Drama, Freeform Magic, Open Source, Tag-Based |
| Core Mechanic | Tri-Stat System: three Stats (Body, Mind, Soul) plus point-buy Attributes, Defects, and Skills built from a Character Point budget. Roll 2d6 + relevant Stat or Combat Value vs. a Target Number. Edges and Obstacles add or remove dice. Eight power levels scale from Sub-Human to Godlike. | Roll 4 Fudge dice + skill vs. difficulty. Spend/earn Fate points to invoke aspects. |
| Dice | 2d6 | 4dF (Fudge dice) |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Very High |
| Community | Medium | High |
| License | Proprietary (Tri-Stat) | CC BY 3.0 |
| Cost | $$ | Free (SRD) |
| Publisher | Dyskami Publishing | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2019 | 2013 |
| Best For | Groups who want to play anime and manga-inspired adventures in any genre — from magical girls and mecha pilots to demon hunters and high school detectives. | Narrative-focused groups who want to tell collaborative stories in any genre with minimal rules. |
| Highlights | Highly flexible point-buy system can model any anime concept, free primer available, decades of community support since 1997, scalable power levels from slice-of-life to cosmic | Genre-agnostic, encourages narrative play, free rules |
| Considerations | Point-buy character creation can overwhelm newcomers, balance depends heavily on GM oversight, anime-focused tone may not suit all groups, dense attribute list requires bookkeeping | Aspect economy demands constant creative input which can exhaust players, character differentiation can blur with freeform aspects, requires system mastery from the GM to run smoothly |