Delta Green vs Monster of the Week
Compare Delta Green and Monster of the Week side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Delta Green | Monster of the Week | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Gritty | Narrative, Beginner-Friendly, Investigation, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 under your skill percentage to succeed. Matched doubles (11, 22, etc.) are critical successes or failures. Six stats (STR, CON, DEX, INT, POW, CHA) derived from percentile rolls. Bonds represent personal relationships and can be damaged as agents lose SAN. Sanity tracks Breaking Points: cross enough and you develop disorders. | Roll 2d6 + stat. 10+ full success, 7–9 success with a cost, 6 or less the Keeper makes a move. Playbook moves trigger from fictional actions. Luck points turn failures into successes but never come back. |
| Dice | d100 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Generic Games Third Party License |
| Cost | Free (Need to Know) / $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Arc Dream Publishing | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2016 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups who want modern-day investigative horror where federal agents sacrifice everything (careers, relationships, sanity) to protect humanity from threats that should not exist. | Groups who want episodic monster-hunting adventures inspired by Buffy, Supernatural, and The X-Files: investigating mysteries, confronting creatures, and dealing with hunter drama. |
| Highlights | Bonds and sanity mechanics create personal drama, Need to Know quickstart is free and complete, strong atmospheric design, profession-based characters feel grounded, well-regarded published scenarios | Very easy to learn, mystery countdown gives the Keeper a clear prep framework, playbooks map directly to genre archetypes |
| Considerations | Dense investigative scenarios require significant GM prep, limited character advancement between operations, bond deterioration can feel mechanically punishing, SAN loss mechanics can remove player agency | No pre-written mysteries in the core book, limited mechanical depth for long campaigns, custom move design requires GM experience, monster creation guidelines are loose |