Magical Kitties Save the Day vs ShenaniGoblins
Compare Magical Kitties Save the Day and ShenaniGoblins side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Magical Kitties Save the Day | ShenaniGoblins | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Modern, Fantasy | Fantasy |
| Tags | Beginner-Friendly, Family-Friendly, Rules-Light, Narrative, Character-Driven, Collaborative, Freeform Magic, Player-Only Rolls, Fast-Paced | Comedy, Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Low-Prep, Tag-Based, Player-Only Rolls, Freeform Magic, Character-Driven, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d6s equal to your attribute (Cute, Cunning, or Fierce, rated 1–4). Each die meeting or exceeding the GM-set difficulty (3–6) counts as a success. Zero successes is a failure with a complication, one is a partial success, two is a clean success, and three or more grants a bonus. Talents add one die, Magical Powers add two dice once per scene, and Injuries subtract dice. Kitty Treats (earned by playing your Flaw in interesting ways) can reroll dice, prevent injuries, or add story elements. Failed checks award Experience Points, encouraging risk-taking. | 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 | Paid | Free core rules |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | Proprietary | 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 | Atlas Games | Jon Pessin |
| Year | 2020 | 2025 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Families with kids aged 6 and up, mixed-age groups, and anyone who wants a gentle introduction to RPGs with a cozy premise and mechanically simple but rewarding play. | 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 | Character creation takes about five minutes using three attributes, one Talent, one Flaw, and one Magical Power. Failed rolls award XP, which encourages players to attempt difficult actions. Each kitty has a human with ranked Problems that drive adventures and give the story personal stakes. Kitty Treats earned from Flaws let players reroll dice or add narrative elements to the scene. | 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 | No free quickstart or SRD available: the core rules require purchase. Characters cannot die; they get knocked out and recover between scenes. The premise is specifically tied to playing magical cats, limiting genre flexibility. | 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. |