Canes Belli vs The Expanse Roleplaying Game
Compare Canes Belli and The Expanse Roleplaying Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Canes Belli | The Expanse Roleplaying Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Tags | CC-Licensed Rules, Cinematic, Combat-Heavy, Fast-Paced, Mission-Based, Resource Management, Rules-Light, Strong GM Support, Tactical, Theater of the Mind | Licensed IP, Space Opera, Ship-Based, Crunchy, Social Combat, Investigation, Faction Play, Social Intrigue, Strong GM Support, Tactical |
| 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 three six-sided dice, two matched and one differently colored Drama Die, and add an ability score plus a focus bonus of +2 if applicable. The total must equal or beat a target number set by the GM or an opponent's result. Rolling doubles generates stunt points spent on combat, exploration, or social effects. The Drama Die's value sets the degree of success. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 3d6 |
| Complexity | Low | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — CC BY-SA 4.0 | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Sebastian Hahn | Green Ronin Publishing |
| Year | 2025 | 2019 |
| Languages | English, German | English |
| 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 who want a character-focused science fiction campaign of crew jobs, faction pressure, and danger across the Solar System. It suits tables that want structured action, investigation, and social encounters alongside ship travel. |
| 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. | Backgrounds, professions, talents, and focuses build characters with mechanical ties to their lives before the campaign begins. Action, exploration, and social encounters each use dedicated stunts, giving different kinds of scenes procedures beyond a single skill roll. The Churn turns accumulated complications into escalating story events, giving the Game Master a structured way to introduce setbacks. |
| 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. | Combat stunts are drawn from six separate category tables covering roughly sixty options, requiring both players and the GM to check charts mid-fight to keep pace. Ground and air vehicles receive no example statistics, leaving their combat rules almost entirely improvised. The forty-page setting guide summarizes the solar system's factions and history at a survey level, so groups wanting deeper political detail need outside reading of the novels. |