City of Jerry vs Mischief
Compare City of Jerry and Mischief side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| City of Jerry | Mischief | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern | Fantasy |
| Tags | Comedy, Fiction-First, Gonzo, Improvisation, Low-Prep, Mystery, Noir, Playbook-Driven, Random Tables, Rules-Light | Rules-Light, Classless, Gonzo, Comedy, Fast-Paced, Fiction-First, Low-Prep, Improvisation, Character-Driven, Hackable |
| Core Mechanic | When an outcome is uncertain, roll a d12 and add the relevant Heal or Harm stat. Read the result on a five-tier scale: 12+ is a Critical Success, 9–11 a Success, 5–8 a Mixed Success, 2–4 a Failure, and 1 or less a Critical Failure. Natural 12s and 1s are always critical. Good or Bad Luck adds d12s and keeps the highest or lowest result. | Roll a d12 and add BODY, MIND, or WILL, then read the total on a five-tier scale: 12+ is a Critical Success, 9–11 a Success, 5–8 a Mixed Success, 2–4 a Failure, and 1 or less a Critical Failure. Natural 12s and 1s are always critical. Each instance of Good or Bad Luck adds a d12 and keeps the highest or lowest result. |
| Dice | d12 | d12 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Availability | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Made for Mischief Third-Party License | Made for Mischief Third-Party License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Made for Mischief Third-Party License | Commercial publishing allowed — Made for Mischief Third-Party License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Drimbus | Drimbus |
| Year | 2026 | 2026 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want low-prep noir mysteries with body-pun humor, player-created connections, and fast conflicts inside a human body. | Groups who want quick, swingy fantasy sessions with comedic magic, freeform character concepts, and advancement tied to each character's personal goals. |
| Highlights | Challenges, combats, and conversations all run on the same Conflict framework, so a group learns one procedure for every kind of scene. When every die in a multi-die roll shows the same number, the Twist table adds an unexpected complication or benefit. Five Roles each supply a curated set of Abilities and Traumas, so every Agent has a distinct toolkit for helping allies and harming threats. | Opponents use a single Power score as roll modifier, damage track, and persuasion threshold, so one number runs a creature in both combat and conversation. Characters level up by checking off items on a player-written Bucket List, tying advancement to personal goals rather than experience points. Abilities and spells share one list and are normally Exhausted by a failed roll, so magic needs no spell slots or mana. |
| Considerations | Every Agent works for Immunity, so a campaign built around a different premise needs reskinning. The first Wound adds -1 to rolls, the second adds -1d12, and a third leaves an Agent Dying and triggers a Death Roll. Investigations use general Challenge Counters rather than a clue or deduction subsystem, leaving evidence details to the Jerry Master. | A failed roll exhausts the Ability used until a Rest or Healing restores it, so a character starting with three Abilities can lose most of their tricks within one Conflict. Base attack damage is usually 1, or 2 on a critical, so weapons mostly differ in accuracy, critical range, and Luck conditions. Wounds add a -1 penalty and then Bad Luck on every roll, so injured characters get steadily worse at escaping danger. |