Lasers & Feelings vs Traveller
Compare Lasers & Feelings and Traveller side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Lasers & Feelings | Traveller | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Comedy, Collaborative, Fiction-First, Open Source, Tag-Based | Sandbox, Simulation, Exploration, Deadly, Character Building, Faction Play |
| 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. | Roll 2d6 + skill + modifier ≥ 8 to succeed. Character generation is a mini-game. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Very Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 | Traveller Fair Use Policy |
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | One Seven Design (John Harper) | Mongoose Publishing |
| Year | 2013 | 2022 |
| 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. | Hard sci-fi sandbox campaigns with trading, exploration, and realistic space travel. |
| Highlights | Entire game fits on one page, zero prep needed, character creation takes seconds, free and Creative Commons licensed | Comprehensive sci-fi toolkit, lifepath character creation, detailed trade/travel systems |
| Considerations | GM carries most of the creative and structural load, single stat means characters can feel mechanically identical, no structured scenario framework beyond the initial hook | Lifepath character creation rolls for aging and career mishaps, so a Traveller can leave chargen weakened or pushed onto an unwanted path. Subsystem rules are spread across multiple supplements, so the core book leaves several procedures without full depth. Characteristics are recorded as a hexadecimal Universal Personality Profile string, an unusual notation newcomers must learn before they can read a stat block. |