Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying vs Lancer
Compare Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying and Lancer side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying | Lancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern, Scifi, Superhero | Scifi |
| Play Style | Superhero, Licensed IP, High-Power, Tactical, Character Building, Character-Driven, Solo-Friendly, Theater of the Mind | Tactical, Mecha, Character Building, Heroic, Crunchy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s equal to an attribute and count each 6 as a success. Extra successes buy stunts. After a failed roll or when seeking more successes, push once by rerolling dice that show neither 6 nor 1; each 1 remaining after the push causes stress. | 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 | High | High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Lancer Third Party License |
| Cost | $$ | Free (PDF) / $$ |
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Massif Press |
| Year | 2026 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want custom superheroes to alternate between destructive team fights and relationship-driven scenes about responsibility, stress, and ordinary life. It suits campaigns ranging from young street heroes to cosmic champions, with a separate solo crisis mode. | 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 | Extra successes buy comic-book stunts such as knockback and collateral destruction, while players can propose GM-approved improvised stunts. Action scenes threaten Health and generate stress against Resolve, while relationship-centered social scenes restore Resolve and tie personal life to the campaign loop. Crisis Mode supplies response engines and escalating timers for solo superhero play without a Gamemaster. | Free core PDF, extensive mech customization with 30+ frames, clean split between rules-light narrative and crunchy tactical combat, alternating activations remove initiative so both sides stay engaged |
| Considerations | The large power catalog, reaction-heavy zone combat, and critical-injury procedures create a steeper learning curve than the simple dice pool suggests. Brutal injuries, permanent death, and collateral damage are deliberate parts of play, so groups should align on graphic superhero violence. The setting chapter, campaign material, and character profiles draw heavily on Invincible, so groups seeking a generic superhero toolkit may choose to replace them. | 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 |