Invisible Sun vs Werewolf: The Apocalypse

Compare Invisible Sun and Werewolf: The Apocalypse side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.

	Invisible Sun	Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Genre	Fantasy	Horror, Modern, Fantasy
Tags	Atmospheric, Character-Driven, Crunchy, Worldbuilding, Lore-Heavy, Mana Points, Narrative, Roleplay-Heavy, Weird	Atmospheric, Base-Building, Character Building, Character-Driven, Combat-Heavy, Corruption, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy
Core Mechanic	Subtract your venture (skills, spent bene from stat pools, situational modifiers) from the GM's challenge to find the number you must meet or beat on a d10. If venture meets the challenge, no roll is needed. Spending bene from the Sorcery pool casts spells and adds extra dice to magical actions (succeed if any die meets the target), but a flux result on a magic die triggers magical flux, an unintended side effect. The Sooth Deck of 60 cards plays along the Path of Suns board, and each new card shifts which colors of magic strengthen or weaken at the table.	Build a d10 dice pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success, and meeting the Storyteller-set Difficulty wins. Pairs of 10s add successes. Rage dice replace regular dice up to current Rage and can cause Brutal outcomes.
Dice	d10	d10 dice pool
Complexity	Very High	High
Accessibility	Low	Medium
Runnability	High	Very High
License	Proprietary	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Cost	$$$	$$
Publisher	Monte Cook Games	Renegade Game Studios
Year	2018	2023
Best For	Groups who want long-form magical roleplaying in a surreal setting where character arcs and spellcasting matter as much as combat. Particularly suited to tables willing to invest in deep character creation and the elaborate physical components (card decks and the Path of Suns play board) that the system uses.	Groups who want long-form modern horror about shapeshifter packs defending communities from ecological and spiritual threats, with violent power constrained by moral and social consequences.
Highlights	Four distinct magic orders each use different rules: Vance sorcerers prepare and cast spells learned from books, Makers craft lasting magical items through the Maker's Matrix, Weavers improvise spells by combining aggregates, and Goetics summon and bind demons. The Sooth Deck of 60 cards plays along a Path of Suns board to shift which colors of magic strengthen or weaken in real time. Character arcs are the primary advancement engine: players pursue personal goals to earn Acumen and Crux points, with arcs ranging from short stories to entire campaigns. Between-session 'side-scenes' let characters take significant actions in writing without taking up table time.	Rage dice make supernatural power volatile because Brutal results can redirect failed actions into destruction or magnify successful violence. Choosing a Garou form changes a character's capabilities, creating tactical and narrative options. Caerns give the pack an improvable spiritual home whose traits connect campaign advancement to territory and community.
Considerations	The full game uses an extensive physical-component library (Sooth Deck, multiple spell and ephemera decks, the Path of Suns board, character tomes, and stat pool sheets), all integral to play. Character creation runs eight steps across multiple chapters and typically occupies a full session before play begins. The Satyrine setting and its dream-logic surrealism are built into the rules; adapting Invisible Sun to a more conventional fantasy world requires reworking the magic registers, currency, and order structure. The Black Cube boxed set's premium pricing creates a higher barrier to entry than typical RPGs.	After a turn without a kill, Crinos requires Willpower each turn or frenzy follows, making the war form difficult to sustain outside violent scenes. Harano and Hauglosk can remove a Garou from play when despair or absolutism fills either track, making moral decline a campaign-level consequence. The game centers mature environmental and spiritual horror, including graphic violence and themes of exploitation and extremism that require deliberate table boundaries.