Lancer vs The Derelict Speaks
Compare Lancer and The Derelict Speaks side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Lancer | The Derelict Speaks | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi, Horror |
| Play Style | Tactical, Mecha, Character Building, Heroic, Crunchy | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Horror, Character-Driven, Deadly, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind, Open Source |
| Core Mechanic | 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. | When a Speaker opposes a Responder, the player rolls 2d6 and assigns one die to Survival and the other to Sanity. Each die is read separately: 5–6 avoids the consequence, 3–4 causes a lesser consequence and transfers one Blood to the GM, and 1–2 causes a severe consequence and transfers two Blood. Aiding adds a third die and keeps the best two, but every participant suffers the final results. |
| Dice | d20 + d6 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | High | Very Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | Lancer Third Party License | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
| Cost | Free (PDF) / $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Massif Press | Precision Chaos Machine |
| Year | 2019 | 2021 |
| Best For | 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. | Groups seeking a semi-competitive science-fiction horror one-shot where player elimination becomes active antagonist play. |
| Highlights | 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 | Assigning one die to Survival and one to Sanity makes each opposed roll threaten body and mind independently. A defeated Responder becomes a Speaker who spends Blood on manifestations, keeping eliminated players active as antagonists. Four Acts raise the Speakers' manifestation limits and Blood supply, producing a complete escalation arc from briefing to escape. |
| Considerations | 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 | The rules support one hostile-derelict scenario and contain no advancement or campaign procedure. Minor harm, serious harm, cracking under pressure, and meltdowns have no additional mechanical definitions, leaving their consequences to the table. The semi-competitive structure turns defeated characters into antagonists, changing play from cooperative survival to active opposition. |