Blades in the Dark vs Changeling: The Lost
Compare Blades in the Dark and Changeling: The Lost side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Blades in the Dark | Changeling: The Lost | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Horror, Fantasy, Modern |
| Tags | Heist, Mission-Based, Faction Play, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Dark Fantasy, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Low-Prep | Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Superpowers, Faction Play, Social Intrigue, Character-Driven, Exploration, Strong GM Support, Lore-Heavy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d6s equal to an action rating and keep the highest result. A 1–3 produces a bad outcome, 4–5 succeeds with consequences, and 6 succeeds fully. Multiple 6s produce a critical success. Before an action roll, the GM sets its position and effect to establish the danger and intended impact. Players can add a die by pushing with stress or accepting a Devil's Bargain. | Build a d10 pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill, and count each 8, 9, or 10 as a success. One success is enough for most simple actions, and five or more normally make an exceptional success. Tens in a normal pool are usually rerolled for a chance at more successes. A pool reduced to zero or fewer dice becomes a single chance die that succeeds only on a 10, has no 10-again, and suffers a dramatic failure on a 1. A character can spend a point of Willpower to add three dice to a roll. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (SRD only) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Onyx Path Publishing |
| Year | 2017 | 2019 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian | English, French |
| Best For | Groups who want a continuing criminal-crew campaign with improvised heists and consequences that change their standing among rival factions. | Groups who want modern fairy-tale horror about surviving abduction and rebuilding a life, with seasonal court politics, binding oaths, and journeys through the Hedge. It suits tables willing to explore trauma and abuse themes within agreed limits. |
| Highlights | Flashbacks establish earlier preparation during a heist, allowing the group to enter the action without planning every contingency. Resistance lets players reduce or avoid consequences at a potential stress cost. Crew advancement changes the group's influence and resources alongside its relationships with rival factions. | Clarity tracks a changeling's trust in her own perceptions, and Touchstones attached to the track reduce the damage that breaking points deal to it. Every Contract has a Loophole, a condition of the fae bargain that lets a changeling invoke its basic effect without spending Glamour. Hedgespinning spends surplus successes and Glamour from ordinary actions in the Hedge on changes to terrain, equipment, or Conditions. |
| Considerations | Action outcomes depend on table judgments about fictional risk and effect rather than fixed difficulty numbers. Recovering harm and clearing stress compete with personal projects for limited downtime activities. Filling the trauma track normally forces a scoundrel into retirement or prison. | Abduction, abuse, and trauma are core subject matter, so the group needs to agree on limits before play. Breaking points risk Clarity damage that can eventually leave a changeling comatose. Goblin Contracts normally add a point of Goblin Debt on each successful use, which the Storyteller can spend to penalize rolls or impose Conditions. |