Canes Belli vs Feng Shui
Compare Canes Belli and Feng Shui side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Canes Belli | Feng Shui | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi | Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Historical, Modern, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | CC-Licensed Rules, Cinematic, Combat-Heavy, Fast-Paced, Mission-Based, Resource Management, Rules-Light, Strong GM Support, Tactical, Theater of the Mind | Cinematic, Combat-Heavy, Fast-Paced, High-Power, Martial Arts, Playbook-Driven, Pulp Action, Strong GM Support, Tactical, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d6 pool equal to one attribute plus one skill. Each 5 or 6 is a success, and the GM sets difficulty by the successes required. In combat, matching Armor Value scores a hit, and each excess success adds to the weapon's base damage. | Roll a positive d6 and a negative d6, subtract the negative die from the positive, and add the Swerve to an Action Value. Meeting or beating the Difficulty succeeds, while open-ended sixes create extreme results. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 2 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — CC BY-SA 4.0 | Noncommercial only — Atlas Games Fair Use policy |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Sebastian Hahn | Atlas Games |
| Year | 2025 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, German | English, French, Russian |
| Best For | Groups who want focused military-science-fiction missions where cinematic one-liners and mission generators extend play beyond the included starter scenario. | Groups that want fast Hong Kong action, tactical shot-by-shot fights, melodramatic hooks, and time-traveling campaigns that mix genres |
| Highlights | Archetype abilities spend the same Energy that absorbs damage, so every use reduces the reserve against later attacks. One-liners grant once-per-session effects such as full-party healing or extra actions, reinforcing the game's action-movie tone. Mission and sidequest generators pair goals with complications to frame assignments beyond the included starter scenario. | A descending shot countdown makes every action and interrupt change when a character acts again. One-hit mooks support crowd-clearing spectacle, while featured foes and bosses use deeper wound rules for climactic fights. Feng shui sites link faction victories to changes in history across four connected eras. |
| Considerations | All four archetypes are fixed military roles with preset abilities and equipment, so character concepts stay within the elite-soldier premise. Each combat round permits either an action or movement, so crossing from Long range to Close range takes two rounds. Advancement grants one attribute point and three skill points at GM-chosen intervals, keeping progression to numerical increases. | Most starting archetypes have fixed statistics and schticks, so initial mechanical customization is limited. The default adventure structure treats investigation and social scenes mainly as connections between fights. Exploding positive and negative dice permit large reversals even when a character's Action Value substantially exceeds the Difficulty. |