Red Markets vs Smallville Roleplaying Game
Compare Red Markets and Smallville Roleplaying Game side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Red Markets | Smallville Roleplaying Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Post-Apocalyptic | Superhero, Modern |
| Tags | Fear & Stress Mechanics, Gritty, Resource Management, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven | Licensed IP, Superpowers, Character-Driven, Drama, Narrative, Collaborative, Worldbuilding, Roleplay-Heavy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d10: one black (skill), one red (threat). Black higher than red means success; doubles are critical results. Characters track economic resources via Bounty (currency), gear with limited charges and upkeep costs, and a negotiation system using a Sway Tracker. Humanity erodes through Trauma, Stress, and Detachment tracks. | Roll a d4–d12 pool built from one Value and one Relationship, with an Asset die if applicable. Add the two highest dice. Dice showing 1 are Complications and never count. Plot Points can add dice to the pool before the roll or include more rolled dice in the total afterward. Tests normally pit your roll against the GM's Trouble pool. Ties go to the GM. Contests exchange action and reaction rolls until someone Gives In or fails to beat the previous total and takes Stress. Giving In concedes the opponent's demand but avoids Stress. |
| Dice | 2d10 | d4–d12 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Out of print |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | Proprietary | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | No verified route found |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Hebanon Games | Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd. |
| Year | 2017 | 2010 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Groups who want a zombie RPG that's really about economic survival: negotiating contracts, managing resources, and deciding what you're willing to sacrifice to keep your dependents alive. | Groups who want superhero stories driven by relationship drama, where the player characters' convictions and loyalties clash with each other as often as they face villains. |
| Highlights | Economic focus makes every job feel high-stakes, negotiation mechanics add tension before combat even starts, humanity/trauma system creates character arcs, zombie threat serves a story about capitalism and survival | Challenging a Drive triples its die for one roll but steps it back for the episode, turning a crisis of conviction into Growth. Group character creation builds a shared map of people and places that supplies material for later episodes. When an opponent fails to beat your action result, they take Stress rather than concede your demand, making Giving In a separate choice. |
| Considerations | Heavy bookkeeping with multiple resource tracks, relentlessly bleak tone, steep learning curve for the Profit system, limited availability of the full rulebook | Creating an original cast through Pathways takes a few hours of group work before the first episode. Episode preparation centers on conflicts between player characters rather than a unified party's shared objective. Winning a Contest cannot kill a character by itself, because killing in a Contest requires that character's player to Give In and accept death. |