M-SPACE vs Serenity RPG
Compare M-SPACE and Serenity RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| M-SPACE | Serenity RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi | Sci-Fi |
| Tags | Toolkit, Modular, Skill-Based, Classless, Ship-Based, Tactical, Social Combat, Character-Driven, Faction Play, Random Tables | Licensed IP, Ship-Based, Cinematic, Narrative, Character-Driven, Classless, Skill-Based, Character Building, Tactical, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 without adding a modifier to the roll and succeed at or below the skill's percentage after difficulty adjusts that target. Critical successes fall within one tenth of the adjusted skill, rounded up. Opposed tests compare success levels and break successful ties with the higher roll. | Roll an Attribute die and a relevant Skill die and add their results to meet a difficulty or beat an opposing roll. Ratings use d2–d12 and add extra dice above d12. The Game Master chooses the Attribute paired with each Skill. Personal modifiers change die sizes; outside conditions change the difficulty. Plot Points buy bonus dice before a roll or add +1 per point afterward. |
| Dice | d100 | d2–d12 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Paid | Out of print |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | FrostByte Books | Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. |
| Year | 2020 | 2005 |
| Languages | English, French, Spanish | English |
| Best For | Groups who want to build a science-fiction campaign around a starship crew and competing organizations. Optional extended conflicts give negotiations and chases the same round-by-round attention as fights. | Groups who want to play a working-class spaceship crew taking risky jobs on a Western-flavored frontier. It suits tables that like a light core roll, dangerous gunfights, and characters defined as much by their flaws as by their skills. |
| Highlights | Modular ship construction connects crew space and equipment choices to handling and damage in combat. Extended Conflicts use depleting pools to make withdrawal a meaningful choice during negotiations and chases. Passions turn personal loyalties into skill bonuses and conflicts between competing commitments. | Playing up a mandatory Complication earns Plot Points, so a character's flaws fund the bonus dice and damage reduction they need in a crisis. Plot Points buy GM-approved story facts on a priced scale from inconsequential to major, giving players a measured say in the plot. The crew's ship has its own Attributes, Traits, and Skills, giving its condition and quirks a mechanical role in play. |
| Considerations | The core supplies creation tools rather than a ready-made campaign setting or playable adventure. Default combat tracks hit points by body location, and a Major Wound incapacitates immediately and can kill outright on a failed Endurance roll. Starship motion uses an abstract Speed value that mostly ignores conservation of momentum. | Severe Wounds penalize every Attribute die and can require surgery followed by days of recovery. Owning a ship adds monthly bookkeeping: a maintenance roll sets the bill, and each month of skipped upkeep lowers the ship's Vitality toward a breakdown. Social conflict uses ordinary Influence rolls with no dedicated procedure for arguments, negotiation, or deception. |