Everywhen vs Genesys
Compare Everywhen and Genesys side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Everywhen | Genesys | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Pulp Action, Heroic, Fast-Paced, Sandbox, Low-Prep | Toolkit, Narrative, Career-Based, Social Combat, Modular, Hackable, Character Building |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + attribute + career (or combat ability) vs. 9+ to succeed. Bonus/penalty dice add extra d6s, keeping the best or worst two. Hero Points let you bend the rules. Careers replace skill lists: your background defines what you can do. Mighty Successes and Calamitous Failures add dramatic swings. | Assemble a pool of custom narrative dice: positive dice (Boost, Ability, Proficiency) from character ability and skill, negative dice (Setback, Difficulty, Challenge) from task difficulty and circumstances. Roll all dice and cancel opposing symbols: Success vs. Failure determines if the task succeeds, Advantage vs. Threat determines beneficial or harmful side effects, and Triumph/Despair trigger powerful narrative outcomes. All three axes resolve independently, so a check can succeed with complications or fail with a silver lining. |
| Dice | 2d6 | Custom dice |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | Proprietary | Genesys Foundry (community content program) |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Filigree Forge | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Year | 2018 | 2017 |
| Best For | Groups who want a fast, career-based universal system with tons of optional rules switches: run weird westerns, cyberpunk, age of sail, high fantasy, or anything pulp and heroic. | Groups who want a genre-flexible system where every dice roll generates narrative texture beyond pass/fail, and who enjoy interpreting results collaboratively at the table. |
| Highlights | Career system eliminates skill lists, fast-playing 2d6 core, large optional rules toolkit (resolve, psionics, arcana, vehicles, mass battles, investigations), two included settings with more published separately | Every roll produces multiple axes of outcome, creating layered narrative results beyond binary success/failure. Full social encounter rules give non-combat interactions the same mechanical depth as combat. The GM Toolkit provides structured guidance for creating custom settings, species, talents, and gear. Six example settings (fantasy, steampunk, weird war, modern, sci-fi, space opera) included in the core book. |
| Considerations | Requires GM comfort with rulings over rules, BoL veterans may find overlap confusing, no free quickstart | Requires proprietary narrative dice or the Genesys Dice App: standard polyhedral dice cannot be used without conversion charts. Interpreting multiple symbol types on every roll can slow play for groups unfamiliar with the system. No free quickstart or SRD available. |