Monster of the Week vs We Can Be Heroes
Compare Monster of the Week and We Can Be Heroes side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Monster of the Week | We Can Be Heroes | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Superhero, Modern |
| Play Style | Narrative, Horror, Beginner-Friendly, Investigation, Playbook-Driven, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Theater of the Mind | Heroic, Superhero, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Character Building, Faction Play |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat. 10+ full success, 7–9 success with a cost, 6 or less the Keeper makes a move. Playbook moves trigger from fictional actions. Luck points turn failures into successes but never come back. | Roll d20 + Talent Modifier vs. GM-set threshold for Talent Checks. Superpowers use Target Die (d12 at levels 1–9, d20 at levels 10–20) + Superpower Die + Moxie. Superpower Attacks always hit — damage is the variable. Hero's Favor points fuel superpowers and creative power use. Action Points govern turns with Primary (3 AP) and Secondary (2 AP) actions. Public Merit tracks faction reputation for favors, intel, and gear upgrades. Hero's Moment rewards critical failures with one-per-level power-ups. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d4–d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Community | High | Very Low |
| License | Generic Games Third Party License | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions | BudStuff Games |
| Year | 2023 | 2024 |
| Best For | Groups who want episodic monster-hunting adventures inspired by Buffy, Supernatural, and The X-Files — investigating mysteries, confronting creatures, and dealing with hunter drama. | Groups who want crunchy superhero campaigns with detailed character builds, tiered superpowers, and a reputation system that ties heroism to community relationships. |
| Highlights | Very easy to learn, mystery countdown gives the Keeper a clear prep framework, playbooks map directly to genre archetypes, large community | Public Merit system ties heroism to community impact through faction reputation, six superpower archetypes with five-tier progression and Auxiliary Powers for build variety, Hero's Moment turns critical failures into one-per-level power-ups, Hero's Favor points enable out-of-combat power use (freezing locks, creating barriers, boosting checks) |
| Considerations | No pre-written mysteries in the core book, limited mechanical depth for long campaigns, custom move design requires GM experience, monster creation guidelines are loose | Character creation requires multiple derived calculations (Moxie, DT, HP, Vigilance, Initiative), 20-level progression has many repetitive incremental steps, combat-heavy with limited non-combat mechanical support |