CAIN vs The Whispering Vault
Compare CAIN and The Whispering Vault side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| CAIN | The Whispering Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror |
| Tags | Anime, Character-Driven, Corruption, Deadly, Fiction-First, Investigation, Mission-Based, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Theater of the Mind | Mission-Based, Mystery, Investigation, Superpowers, High-Power, Character-Driven, Atmospheric, Weird, One-Shot Friendly, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s from a skill rated 0–3 plus up to +3D of ordinary advantages; each 4+ is a success, and one success achieves the goal. The Admin judges difficulty and risk separately, so a roll can be both hard and risky. A hard roll scores successes only on 6s. A risky roll adds the Admin's risk die, which sets how much better or worse the outcome goes. A straight roll omits that die. Complex tasks use talismans, segmented trackers that take one slash per success. | Roll a number of d6s equal to the relevant Attribute. Take the highest single die or the largest sum of matching dice, then add the applicable Skill Bonus. Meet or exceed the GM's Difficulty to succeed. Spend one Karma to reroll any chosen dice while keeping the others. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Availability | Paid | Paid |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Creator-published permission for original supplementary content | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | CHASM | Philip Reed Games |
| Year | 2024 | 2003 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want short monster-of-the-week campaigns where uncovering a sin's traumas makes the final confrontation easier. It suits tables ready to handle abuse, self-harm, and trauma themes with characters treated as expendable weapons. | Groups who want supernatural horror investigations with powerful, inhuman protagonists. It suits episodic hunts across different eras or campaigns protecting one recurring location. |
| Highlights | Each trauma question answered during investigation can be invoked once in the final fight to reduce stress and slash the sin's execution talisman. Exorcists can pay for powers with 1d3 sin instead of scarce psyche bursts, a shortcut that builds toward overflow, mutation, or becoming an enemy Imago. Every rest raises pressure, and each pressure tick lengthens the sin's execution talisman, making recovery a direct trade against the final fight. | Each Hunt gives the group a concrete objective of investigating and repairing a breach in reality. Mastered powers allow improvised effects paid for with Karma. Consistent portrayal of the Keys that preserve a Stalker's human identity earns one part of the Experience award. |
| Considerations | Investigations engage with abuse, self-harm, trauma, and mental health crises, so the book directs the Admin to discuss intentions and boundaries with players beforehand. Harm taken with three injuries, or 7 or more stress from one event after reductions, causes instant death unless the exorcist defies fate and suffers sin overflow instead. The author expects campaigns of about ten sessions or fewer, and Category advancement reaches its normal cap after seven missions survived. | The Forbiddance punishes interference with unrelated mortals or major historical events. Supernatural abilities can consume the same Vitality used to withstand injury. Power interpretations and unusual combat situations depend on GM judgment rather than detailed rules for every case. |