Lasers & Feelings vs ShenaniGoblins
Compare Lasers & Feelings and ShenaniGoblins side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Lasers & Feelings | ShenaniGoblins | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi | Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Comedy, Collaborative, Fiction-First, CC-Licensed Rules, Tag-Based | Comedy, Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Tag-Based, Player-Only Rolls, Freeform Magic, Character-Driven, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Pick a number from 2–5. Roll 1–3d6 depending on preparation and expertise. Rolls under your number succeed at Lasers (science, tech, reason); rolls over succeed at Feelings (intuition, diplomacy, passion). Rolling exactly your number triggers Laser Feelings: a special insight where you can ask the GM one question. | To Do The Thing, roll one d6 for each Trait the Goblin Master agrees would help. Add one die for a helpful item in the goblin's Pockets, two when the goblin often does this task as part of its Job, and one per helper, then remove one die per character trying to stop the goblin. Each 5 or 6 is a Hit, and the goblin succeeds when the Hits equal or exceed the Goblin Master's difficulty of 1 to 5. Dice hit on 4+ when the action directly serves the goblin's Dream or the player spends 2 Sparks, and only on 6 when the player takes 1 XP for a hindering Trait. Two or more dice showing the same number also trigger Chaos Magic, adding Something Bad on a match of 1–3 or Something Good on a match of 4–6 on top of the roll's result. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | Book tools not listed |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Noncommercial only — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | One Seven Design (John Harper) | Jon Pessin |
| Year | 2013 | 2025 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Quick one-shots with zero prep: the crew of the interstellar scout ship Raptor must save the day while the captain is out of commission. | Groups who want a silly, low-prep fantasy one-shot about incompetent minions, where arguing a goblin's quirks into the dice pool is part of the fun. |
| Highlights | Entire game fits on one page, zero prep needed, character creation takes seconds, free and Creative Commons licensed | Matching dice add a Chaos Magic event on top of the roll's result, so even a successful roll can bring Something Bad. Damage marks off Traits that cannot be rolled until they recover, so an injured goblin loses dice instead of hit points. Fulfilling a goblin's Dream grants an immediate Level and a new Trait, and the player then sets an even more grandiose Dream. |
| Considerations | The GM carries most of the creative and structural load. The single stat means characters can feel mechanically identical. There is no structured scenario framework beyond the initial hook. | Spark-powered magic has no spell list or cost table, so the Goblin Master judges how many Sparks each change costs. Any pool of seven or more dice is certain to contain a matching pair, which guarantees a Chaos Magic event. The rules include no character death: a goblin with every Trait marked is Out until one recovers. |