Blades in the Dark vs Mouse Guard RPG
Compare Blades in the Dark and Mouse Guard RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Blades in the Dark | Mouse Guard RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Heist, Mission-Based, Faction Play, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Dark Fantasy, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Low-Prep | Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Mission-Based |
| 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. | Roll a pool of d6s equal to your ability or skill: each die showing 4+ counts as a success. Meet or exceed the obstacle number to pass. Conflicts (fights, arguments, chases, negotiations) use scripted actions and disposition. Beliefs, Instincts, and Goals drive advancement. Play alternates between GM's Turn (missions and obstacles) and Players' Turn (personal goals and recovery). |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (SRD only) | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | Archaia Entertainment |
| Year | 2017 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian | English |
| Best For | Groups who want a continuing criminal-crew campaign with improvised heists and consequences that change their standing among rival factions. | Groups who love the Mouse Guard comics and want a mission-driven RPG where brave mice face nature, weather, and predators: with Burning Wheel's belief-driven mechanics in a streamlined package. |
| 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. | Beliefs and Instincts mechanically drive play, versatile conflict system handles fights, debates, chases, and negotiations equally, streamlined Burning Wheel engine, well-integrated with the comics, included sample missions and 12 pre-made characters |
| 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. | Tightly bound to the Mouse Guard setting, conflict scripting takes getting used to, limited character options, currently out of print |