Mothership vs Railgun XXVI
Compare Mothership and Railgun XXVI side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Mothership | Railgun XXVI | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi, Horror | Scifi |
| Play Style | Rules-Light, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Survival, Atmospheric, Low-Prep, Cinematic, Fast-Paced | Tactical, Player-Only Rolls, Deadly, Gritty, Mission-Based, Random Character Creation, Beginner-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 under stat/skill. Stress and panic mechanics escalate tension. | Roll d20 and add one of four stats (STR, CRD, AGI, or MND) against a standard difficulty of 12. Every roll is player-facing: players roll to attack and also roll to dodge incoming attacks, so the GM never needs to roll dice. Rolling a natural 20 banks an adrenaline point, which buys an extra action on top of the two each character gets per turn. |
| Dice | d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Low | Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Medium | Low |
| License | 3rd Party License | MÖRK BORG Third Party License |
| Cost | $ | Free |
| Publisher | Tuesday Knight Games | Nathan Freeman |
| Year | 2022 | 2026 |
| Best For | Terrifying sci-fi horror one-shots and short campaigns. Panic table creates unforgettable moments. | Groups who want short, lethal firefights on a grid and a GM who narrates enemies rather than rolling for them. Suits a few-session campaign or a drop-in mission night more than a long character-driven arc. |
| Highlights | Rules-light, well-regarded module library, panic system creates mechanical tension | Every roll is player-facing, including dodges against incoming attacks, so the GM runs enemies without touching the dice. Dropping to 0 HP forces a critical injury roll that permanently reduces a stat, so downed characters degrade instead of bouncing back up. Several weapons chain into a free attack when they drop an enemy, making target order a tactical decision rather than a formality. |
| Considerations | Panic table can cascade and end sessions abruptly, limited long-campaign support in core rules, stress mechanics can feel repetitive over extended play | Social scenes have no dedicated stat or subsystem, so persuasion is settled by player argument rather than mechanics. Play assumes a gridded map with movement and line of sight measured in squares, leaving theater-of-the-mind groups to convert those rules themselves. Out-of-combat scenes lean on ad hoc GM rulings and a single falling-forward technique rather than a dedicated exploration or investigation subsystem. |