Brachyr System vs GunCraze
Compare Brachyr System and GunCraze side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Brachyr System | GunCraze | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Post-Apocalyptic, Modern |
| Tags | Classless, Skill-Based, Tactical, Crunchy, Deadly, Social Combat | Tactical, Crunchy, Classless, Skill-Based, Deadly, Gritty, Miniatures |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d8 'base die' plus a skill modifier equal to the number of abilities you possess in that skill, and meet or exceed a difficulty class assembled from +5 'complications' counted up for the task. You may add one tool die (sized d4 for a basic object up to d10 for a quality magical one) and one aid die supplied by a helping ally, all added together, though a check is hard-capped at those three dice (plus the modifier) so the totals never balloon. Attacks and debate arguments are resolved against a defence check the target rolls with a skill of their own, and the margin between the two rolls becomes the damage dealt to health or to a position. | Statistic Test: roll 1d10, add the relevant Attribute or Skill rank plus modifiers, and meet or beat a target number; contested actions are Opposed Rolls where the higher total wins and ties favor the defender. A natural 9 or 10 on a combat test banks a Craze! Point, and up to three Craze! Points can be spent after a roll to add +1d6 each. Attacks roll a d10 for hit location and deal damage in d6s against per-location hit points. |
| Dice | d4–d10 | d10, d6 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Free core rules | Paid |
| Runnability | 2 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary (GunCraze OGL v1.1) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | David Gower | Action Tactics Roleplay Gaming LLC |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want a crunchy, classless fantasy game where teamwork is mechanically central: coordinating tools and aid raises the whole party's odds, combat on a hex grid is deadly enough to demand cooperation, and social conflict gets the same tactical depth as a fight. | Groups who want crunchy, grid-based tactical gunfights with genuine lethality in a post-apocalyptic setting and don't mind learning a dense rulebook before the first session. |
| Highlights | Most usable objects grant a tool die and an adjacent ally can lend an aid die, both added to your d8 base roll, while a hard cap of one tool die and one aid die per check keeps a coordinated, well-equipped party ahead of a lone expert without letting the totals balloon. Debates run as a full parallel to combat with their own initiative, rounds, and 'damage' dealt to a position, where gathered evidence acts as tool dice and named fallacies like Straw Man and Beg the Question function as special attacks. Weapons are assembled from a point-buy list of traits (Damage, Reach, Range, Parry, Aiding) rather than picked from a fixed list, so an improvised rope dart, torch, or household tool can be statted as readily as a sword. | A natural 9 or 10 on a combat roll banks a Craze! Point, and up to three can be spent afterward for +1d6 each or to dive for cover mid-attack, but never to boost damage, keeping firefights swingy without softening lethality. Damage tracks per body location, so a destroyed limb is disabled and spills further hits into the torso past armor, turning partial wounds into mounting handicaps rather than one shared health bar. Characters are built from specializations, tiered talent trees, ranked skills, and jobs rather than classes, letting any blend of gunplay, melee, and noncombat skill live in one survivor. |
| Considerations | Player options in the core rulebook reach only the lowest three of nine ability tiers, so the most powerful character abilities are defined but not accessible from this book alone. Resolution rests on a single d8 base die that tools and ally aid can supplement but never replace, so even high-skill characters see swingy results from roll to roll. There is no money or tracked coin: gear is acquired through an abstract Trade check against an item's difficulty scaled to social status, abstracting economic play away entirely. | Social conflict resolves through single skill tests, with no structured subsystem for extended negotiation, interrogation, or social maneuvering. The rules cover realistic firearms, melee, and cybernetics only, with no rules for magic, psychic powers, or other fantastical abilities. Installing cybernetics requires both Surgery and Engineering (Robotics) skill ranks plus high target-number tests, gating the augmentation catalog behind dedicated character investment. |