ICONS vs Kids on Bikes
Compare ICONS and Kids on Bikes side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| ICONS | Kids on Bikes | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Superhero, Modern | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Superhero, Heroic, Cinematic, Rules-Light, Random Character Creation, Tag-Based, Theater of the Mind, Beginner-Friendly | Beginner-Friendly, Cinematic, Collaborative, Worldbuilding, Mystery, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Theater of the Mind, Narrative, Roleplay-Heavy, Drama, GM-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Effort vs. Difficulty. Each side adds a single d6 to a 1–10 ability level (acting Ability + d6 for effort, opposing Ability + d6 for difficulty); subtract difficulty from effort to find the outcome and its degree (marginal, moderate, major, or massive success or failure). Qualities are short narrative descriptors — titles, drives, catchphrases, weaknesses — that any player or the GM can activate to gain an advantage or create trouble. Activating trouble against your own hero earns Determination Points, which fuel stunts, retcons, ability boosts, and other player-side narrative interventions. | Six stats (Brains, Brawn, Fight, Flight, Charm, Grit) each get a single die from d4 (terrible) to d20 (superb), with the assignment determined by a chosen Trope (Brilliant Mathlete, Loner Weirdo, Popular Kid, etc.). Roll the relevant stat die against a GM-set difficulty; rolling the die's maximum 'explodes' and the die is rerolled, adding the values together. Failed rolls grant Adversity Tokens, each spendable for +1 on a future roll. Combat is fully narrative — there are no hit points; the margin between attacker and defender rolls determines injury severity and who narrates the outcome. Age (child, teen, or adult) grants +1 to two relevant stats and unlocks a free Strength. Each campaign also features a Powered Character co-controlled by all players through shared Aspect notecards and a pool of Psychic Energy tokens. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d4–d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Medium |
| License | OGL 1.0a | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Green Ronin Publishing | Hunters Entertainment / Renegade Game Studios |
| Year | 2014 | 2018 |
| Best For | Groups who want fast superhero campaigns where heroes can be rolled up in minutes, freeform qualities drive both advantages and complications, and the rules stay out of the way of comic-book pacing. | Groups who want collaborative small-town supernatural mystery in the vein of Stranger Things or Stand By Me, where character relationships and tropes matter more than mechanical complexity. Especially well suited to one-shots, short campaigns, and tables that include players new to TTRPGs. |
| Highlights | Hero creation runs through a handful of dice rolls — origin (Trained, Transformed, Birthright, Gimmick, Artificial, Unearthly), six attributes, number and type of powers, and specialties — and produces a complete superhero in minutes, with the random results functioning as creative prompts for backstory rather than constraints on concept. Qualities act like Fate aspects: any side can invoke them for in-fiction advantage, and accepting compelled trouble against your own qualities is the primary way to refill Determination Points, so personal drama directly feeds the metacurrency. Pyramid tests resolve complex challenges by stacking smaller successes — two moderate successes equal a major, two majors equal a massive — letting investigations, chases, or skill montages play out across multiple rolls and abilities with optional modifiers like Timed, Escalating, Collapsing, and Competitive to shape the challenge. | Pre-built Tropes turn character creation into a five-minute step, Setting Boundaries safety tools are integrated as the very first step before play, collaborative world-building constructs the town and seeds rumors before the first session, the Powered Character mechanic distributes shared narrative control of the supernatural element across the table via Aspect notecards |
| Considerations | Default hero creation is fully random — origin, attributes, and powers all come off 2d6 tables — so groups wanting a planned concept need to use the alternate 45-point buy or rely on attribute swaps and re-rolls. Combat resolves against a single Stamina pool (Strength + Willpower) with no grid rules or status conditions beyond a handful of effect powers, so brawls play fast but lack tactical positional depth. Powers are intentionally broad rather than deep — about sixty powers cover the genre — and exotic builds rely on stacking extras and limits rather than the granular menu of effects found in crunchier supers games. | Combat is fully narrative with no hit points or initiative, which can frustrate groups who want tactical structure, difficulty setting is entirely GM judgment with example anchors but no formulas, the shared-control Powered Character can confuse players new to collaborative narration, long-campaign play requires the GM to invent advancement and pacing because the rules are tuned for one-shots and short arcs |