Lancer vs Nimble
Compare Lancer and Nimble side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Lancer | Nimble | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi | Fantasy |
| Tags | Mecha, Tactical, Grid-Based, Combat-Heavy, Crunchy, Character Building, Mission-Based, Strong GM Support, Lore-Heavy, Heroic | Tactical, Fast-Paced, Heroic, Combat-Heavy, Grid-Based, Character Building, Classic Fantasy, Beginner-Friendly, Strong GM Support, Low-Prep |
| Core Mechanic | Skill checks, attacks, and saves roll a d20 plus at most one stat bonus, such as a pilot trigger, a mech skill, or GRIT. Skill checks normally succeed on 10 or more, while attacks must meet the target's defense and saves must meet the attacker's save target. Accuracy and Difficulty cancel one for one. Each remaining point rolls a d6, and only the highest die is added or subtracted. | Skill checks and saves roll a d20 plus the relevant skill or stat against a DC. A natural 1 always fails and a natural 20 always succeeds. Attacks skip the to-hit roll: roll the attack's listed damage and deal the total. On most attacks, a 1 on the leftmost Primary Die misses and a maximum on that die explodes into a critical hit. Advantage and disadvantage add dice of the same type and drop the lowest or highest. |
| Dice | d20 + d6 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Lancer Third Party License | Nimble 3rd Party Creator License v2.0 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Publisher third-party license | Commercial publishing allowed — Creator license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Massif Press | Nimble Co. |
| Year | 2019 | 2025 |
| Languages | English, Italian, Portuguese | English |
| Best For | Groups who want deep tactical mech combat and build customization, with lighter narrative play and downtime between missions. | Groups who want class-based heroic fantasy with tactical grid fights and no separate to-hit roll. Also a good fit for a group whose GM is running a game for the first time. |
| Highlights | Licenses unlock gear from five manufacturers, and unlocked weapons and systems can be mixed onto any licensed frame within its mounts and system points. Combat during narrative play resolves through ordinary skill checks, so a fight without mechs can end in a few rolls without a battle map. Player mechs degrade in stages: each lost point of structure or stress triggers an increasingly dangerous structure or overheating check. | Heroic Reactions such as Defend and Interpose normally cost one of a hero's three actions, so reacting on an enemy's turn leaves fewer actions for the hero's own turn. Assess spends an action on a skill check to ask the GM a question that must be answered honestly or to create an opening, bringing roleplay into combat turns. Legendary monsters act after each hero's turn and list HP per hero, so one boss scales to the size of the party. |
| Considerations | Build choices are dense, since licenses, talents, and core bonuses interact across 29 frames. Narrative play outside combat is a lean layer of skill checks and downtime actions next to the mech combat rules. Mech combat is slow enough that the book expects one or two fights per session, usually just one. | Movement, reach, and area effects are counted in grid spaces, so gridless play relies on one of the optional movement variants. Damage can swing widely because a single roll decides both whether an attack hits and how much it deals. Outside combat, social and exploration scenes run on skill checks and GM-built skill challenges rather than dedicated subsystems. |