Comrades vs Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game

Compare Comrades and Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Comrades	Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game
Genre	Historical	Horror, Historical
Tags	Playbook-Driven, Narrative, Fiction-First, Collaborative, Character-Driven, Faction Play, Deadly, Worldbuilding, Drama	Fear & Stress Mechanics, Player-Only Rolls, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Character-Driven, Narrative, Resource Management, Low-Prep, Weird, Licensed IP
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.	The GM sets a task difficulty from 0 to 10, with a target number equal to three times the difficulty. Players roll a d20 for tasks, attacks and defenses and succeed by meeting that target. Skills, assets and Effort ease the difficulty; a task reduced to 0 succeeds automatically. Effort costs points from Might, Speed or Intellect Pools, with Edge reducing the cost.
Dice	2d6	d20
Complexity	Low	Medium
Availability	Paid	Paid
Runnability	4 of 5 book tools	5 of 5 book tools
License	Proprietary (PbtA)	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	No verified route found
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	Akers Games	Monte Cook Games
Year	2019	2023
Languages	English	English
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 seeking community-centered folk horror in an alternate Appalachia of the 1920s and 1930s. It suits tables comfortable with personal goals driving advancement, spending health resources on tasks and discussing horror boundaries together.
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	Personal character arcs award XP for completed steps and climaxes, making chosen goals part of advancement. Single-use cyphers frequently replace spent charms and strange objects, encouraging players to use unusual tools. What Wakes Mode widens the natural-roll range for GM intrusions until a ten-hour recovery normally resets it, turning supernatural attention into escalating pressure.
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	Stat Pools pay for Effort and abilities as well as absorb harm, so spending them can reduce a character’s resilience. The GM chooses task difficulties and introduces complications, making consistent adjudication a substantial responsibility. The core centers on alternate Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s, so a different setting requires adapting its lore and character connections.