Risus vs Wushu
Compare Risus and Wushu side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Risus | Wushu | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Universal | Universal |
| Tags | Rules-Light, One-Shot Friendly, Beginner-Friendly, Comedy, Low-Prep, Narrative, Fiction-First, Freeform Magic, Tag-Based | Cinematic, Rules-Light, Narrative, Collaborative, Tag-Based, High-Power, One-Shot Friendly, Low-Prep, Theater of the Mind, CC-Licensed Rules |
| Core Mechanic | Characters are defined by Clichés rated in d6s (e.g., Viking (4), Hacker (3)). Roll your Cliché dice vs. a target number or in opposed rolls where the low roller loses a die. | Players narrate actions in the present tense, and the details happen as described. Only the winner of a conflict may narrate victory. Each narrated detail earns one d6, up to a per-player limit the Director sets for the scene (usually 4–10). Players split their dice into Yang for offense and Yin for defense before everyone rolls at once. Each die at or under the most relevant Trait (rated 1–5, default 2) is a hit. Yang hits remove chips from a Threat or are cancelled one for one by an opponent's Yin hits. Hits that get past Yin are paid with Chi tokens. A hit that a character cannot cover with Yin or Chi defeats them. If a hero and a Nemesis are both defeated in the same round, the one with more uncovered hits loses, and ties go to the hero. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | Very Low |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free core rules |
| Runnability | Book tools not listed | 3 of 5 book tools |
| License | Free (non-commercial) | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Big Dice Games | Daniel Bayn |
| Year | 2021 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English |
| Best For | Pick-up games, emergency one-shots, comedy campaigns, or anytime you need a complete RPG in four pages that handles any genre. | Groups who want improvised, movie-style fight scenes in which the players describe the stunts themselves, played as one-shots or loose episodes with little preparation. |
| Highlights | Fits on four pages, broadly universal, character creation takes minutes, completely free | Dice pools are built from narrated details up to the scene's limit, so players are rewarded for elaborating their action rather than for their stats. Nameless mooks are a single stack of poker chips the heroes wear down, which lets players describe as many enemies falling as they like. A four-step zero-prep procedure aims to produce heroes, nemeses and a plot outline in thirty minutes or less. |
| Considerations | Cliché-based resolution can feel one-note over multiple sessions, limited advancement rules, team combat heavily favors larger groups, creating a strong incentive to always combine dice, comedy tone permeates all mechanical language | Characters do not gain experience or levels, and any mechanical change to a hero comes from optional Trait rules such as milestone Traits. Weapons and positioning carry no mechanical modifiers, so tactical choices count only as narrated details that earn dice. How a description is split into details, and whether it fits the agreed tone, rests on the Director's count and the table's judgment. |