Comrades vs Honor + Intrigue
Compare Comrades and Honor + Intrigue side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Comrades | Honor + Intrigue | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Historical | Historical |
| Play Style | Playbook-Driven, Narrative, Fiction-First, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Faction Play, Deadly, Worldbuilding, Drama | Career-Based, Cinematic, Social Intrigue, Heroic, Fast-Paced, Martial Arts, Ship-Based, Pirates, 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 2d6 + Quality (Might, Daring, Savvy, or Flair) + Career rank vs. 9 to succeed. In combat, Combat Abilities (Brawl, Melee, Ranged, Defense) replace Careers. Bonus Dice roll 3d6 and keep the best two; Penalty Dice keep the worst two. Fortune Points let heroes escape death, add bonus dice, invoke dramatic license, or press the Advantage in duels. Advantage tracks momentum in melee — characters start at 3 and lose Advantage when hit, becoming Defeated at 0. Nine Dueling Styles (Spanish, Italian, French, and more) each grant unique maneuvers and a Final Secret at mastery. Social Combat uses the same framework, targeting Composure instead of Lifeblood. |
| Dice | 2d6 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Low |
| Runnability | Low | Medium |
| License | Proprietary (PbtA) | Proprietary |
| Cost | $ | $$ |
| Publisher | Akers Games | Basic Action Games |
| Year | 2019 | 2012 |
| 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 who want cinematic swashbuckling in the style of The Three Musketeers and Captain Blood — dashing swordplay, court intrigue, and sea battles with a fast, career-based system. |
| 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 | Nine Dueling Styles with distinct maneuvers and masterable Final Secrets provide deep fencing differentiation. Social Combat and Repartee use the same mechanical framework as physical combat, targeting Composure. Over 30 period-specific Careers from Musketeer to Temptress replace skill lists. Includes ship-to-ship combat, battlefield rules, and a 17th-century gazetteer covering Europe, the Americas, and beyond. |
| 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 | No free quickstart or SRD available. Advantage tracking adds a subsystem on top of basic BoL resolution. The gazetteer and setting material assume 17th-century Europe as the default, limiting out-of-the-box use for other periods. |