Comrades vs Feng Shui
Compare Comrades and Feng Shui side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Comrades | Feng Shui | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Historical | Fantasy, Scifi, Historical, Modern, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Playbook-Driven, Narrative, Fiction-First, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Faction Play, Deadly, Worldbuilding, Drama | Cinematic, Combat-Heavy, Fast-Paced, High-Power, Martial Arts, Playbook-Driven, Pulp Action, Strong GM Support, Tactical, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat (Body, Mind, Spirit, Guile, or Bond, ranging from -3 to +3). On a 10+ it is a strong hit, on a 7–9 a weak hit with complications, on a 6- a miss and the GM makes a move. Basic moves cover combat (Get Rough), persuasion (Sway), infiltration (Sneak), mob incitement (Start Something), and interpersonal moments (Share a Quiet Moment). At the end of each session, the party rolls Pathway Moves to advance along five tracks toward revolution: Force, Organization, Zealotry, Mayhem, and Fellowship. Reaching level 5 on any pathway triggers the final attempt to seize power. | 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 | 2d6 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | Proprietary (PbtA) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Atlas Games Fair Use policy |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $ | $ |
| Publisher | Akers Games | Atlas Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, French, Russian |
| Best For | Groups who want to tell stories of revolutionary struggle against an oppressive regime, exploring the costs of political violence and the bonds between comrades willing to die for their ideals. | Groups that want fast Hong Kong action, tactical shot-by-shot fights, melodramatic hooks, and time-traveling campaigns that mix genres |
| Highlights | Pathways to Revolution system gives campaigns built-in momentum and a definitive endgame, 10 playbooks embody distinct revolutionary archetypes from Artist to Soldier, first session includes collaborative worldbuilding where players choose the setting and define the oppressive regime, Bond stat mechanically reinforces relationships between comrades | 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 | Strongly political subject matter requires buy-in from the entire table, no included bestiary or detailed tactical combat rules, Khresht 1915 is the only fully developed setting: other included settings are brief outlines, GM receives principles but limited structured prep tools beyond fronts | 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. |