Ironsworn: Starforged vs Mutant: Year Zero
Compare Ironsworn: Starforged and Mutant: Year Zero side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Ironsworn: Starforged | Mutant: Year Zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi | Post-Apocalyptic |
| Tags | Narrative, Solo-Friendly, Sandbox, Exploration, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Worldbuilding, Character-Driven, CC-Licensed Rules, Random Tables | Sandbox, Survival, Exploration, Character-Driven, Worldbuilding, Narrative |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d6 (action die) + stat vs. two d10 challenge dice. Beat both = strong hit, beat one = weak hit, beat neither = miss. Momentum meter (-6 to +10) can be burned to replace your action score. Moves resolve fiction; progress tracks measure quests, expeditions, and combat. Oracle tables generate story prompts for solo and co-op play. | Roll a pool of d6s (attribute + skill + gear). Each 6 is a success; one success is enough. You can push your roll to reroll failures, but 1s on attribute dice cause trauma and 1s on gear dice cause damage to equipment. Mutations cost Mutation Points and can misfire with unpredictable side effects. |
| Dice | d6 + 2d10 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 | Proprietary |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Not yet researched |
| Publisher | Tomkin Press / Modiphius Entertainment | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2022 | 2014 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Solo or small-group sci-fi campaigns driven by sworn vows, with rich oracle tables, starship exploration, and collaborative worldbuilding: no GM required. | Post-apocalyptic campaigns where mutant survivors explore a deadly Zone, build up their home settlement, and search for the mythical Eden: with the Year Zero Engine that spawned a family of games. |
| Highlights | Strong solo RPG design, 'Choose Your Truths' worldbuilding tailors the setting, large oracle chapter for emergent story, momentum system creates dramatic tension, three flexible play modes (solo/co-op/guided) | Push mechanic creates tough choices, Ark development gives players a shared home to build, Zone exploration is tense and rewarding, eight distinctive roles with built-in relationships and dreams, launched the Year Zero Engine family |
| Considerations | Dense 400-page rulebook despite narrative focus, large move count to internalize, setting is human-centric by default, oracle-driven play can produce disjointed narratives without careful interpretation | Mutation randomness can frustrate planners, metaplot requires significant GM commitment, Ark development bookkeeping adds between-session overhead, Zone travel can feel repetitive without varied encounters |