Coriolis: The Third Horizon vs Lancer
Compare Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Lancer side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Coriolis: The Third Horizon | Lancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Exploration, Atmospheric, Character-Driven, Faction Play, Ship-Based, Investigation, Cinematic | Tactical, Mecha, Grid-Based, Character Building, Combat-Heavy, Heroic, Crunchy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill + gear). Each 6 is a success. Pray to the Icons to reroll all non-successes, but doing so gives the GM a Darkness Point to spend on complications, NPC boosts, or cosmic threats. | Narrative scenes use d20 roll-over (10+ succeeds), with backgrounds granting advantage and triggers adding flat bonuses. Mech combat is grid-based and tactical — no initiative, players and NPCs alternate turns. Pilots progress through License Levels (LL0–LL12), unlocking new chassis, weapons, and systems across five manufacturers with 30+ mech frames. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 + d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Community | Medium | Medium |
| License | Year Zero Engine OGL | Lancer Third Party License |
| Cost | $$ | Free (PDF) / $$ |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Massif Press |
| Year | 2017 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want sci-fi exploration with a Middle Eastern-inspired setting, ship-based campaigns, and a mix of trade, intrigue, and cosmic mystery. | Groups who want deep tactical mech combat with meaningful customization layered on top of accessible narrative play — giant robot enthusiasts seeking a modern alternative to BattleTech. |
| Highlights | Setting blends sci-fi with Middle Eastern mythology and Icon worship, Darkness Points create a GM resource that escalates over the session, detailed ship customization with five crew roles in space combat, ten factions provide a political backdrop for intrigue campaigns | Free core PDF, extensive mech customization with 30+ frames, clean split between rules-light narrative and crunchy tactical combat, Comp/Con companion app is well-integrated, active community |
| Considerations | Space combat uses a separate five-phase subsystem with added complexity, praying to the Icons is the only reroll mechanic and it always costs a Darkness Point, mystical powers chapter is brief compared to the setting and combat chapters, setting is tightly coupled — 36 star systems with specific lore | Mech combat dominates — narrative half feels thin by comparison, steep learning curve from sheer volume of mech options, genre-locked to sci-fi mech fiction, requires grid/VTT for combat |