ESSER vs Murder of Crows
Compare ESSER and Murder of Crows side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| ESSER | Murder of Crows | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Horror |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Theater of the Mind, One-Shot Friendly, Short Sessions, Fast-Paced, Low-Prep, Freeform Magic, Cinematic, Classless, Roll to Cast | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Comedy, Mission-Based, Character-Driven, Random Tables, Low-Prep, Freeform Magic, Fast-Paced, Theater of the Mind |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + skill bonus + attribute bonus. A result of 1–9 fails with a complication, 10–14 succeeds at a cost, 15–19 fully succeeds, and 20+ succeeds with an epic effect. | Roll 1d6 against the relevant Aspect (Beast, Omen or Trickster, rated 2 to 5): a roll below the Aspect succeeds, a roll equal to it succeeds and earns a Portent, and a roll above it fails. A helping Crow counts the Aspect as 1 higher, to a maximum of 5. When a Crow acts in accordance with its Augury, the player may roll two dice and use either; when it contradicts its Augury, or an Affliction affects the roll, the player rolls two dice and Fate (the GM) chooses which counts. A human may roll 1d6 to resist; if the human's roll matches or is lower than the Crow's, the Crow fails even on a success. |
| Dice | d20 | d6 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | Book tools not listed |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Espen Erlandsen | Jon Pessin |
| Year | 2026 | 2026 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups seeking a two-hour, genre-flexible one-shot where the same d20 engine handles action and conversation. | Groups who want a darkly comic one-shot as a flock of crows plotting a human's death, with tables that set up the hunt at the table. |
| Highlights | The same d20 roll handles standard checks and direct contests, making transitions between scene types quick. Interface scales open-ended supernatural or technical effects by skill tier, letting one procedure cover magic and hacking. NPCs need a core bonus, Strikes, and an optional trait, so a GM can prepare threats with few statistics. | Rolling exactly the Aspect's value earns a Portent, letting the player ask Fate one question answered by a brief, obscure vision. Acting in accordance with a Crow's Augury lets the player pick between two dice, while contradicting it hands that choice to Fate. Fate rolls or chooses with the Crows from d6 tables to set the hunt's victim, motive and complications. |
| Considerations | No default setting is provided, so groups must supply a world for their adventure. Gear grants fictional permission rather than numeric bonuses, limiting equipment-based builds. Strikes reset after each adventure, so the track does not preserve mechanical attrition between adventures. | The premise is the flock plotting a human's death, which will not suit groups uncomfortable with murder as the goal. The rules include no death for Crows: a Crow that takes a fourth Affliction leaves the scene or goes unconscious instead. There are no experience, advancement or campaign rules. |