Scum and Villainy vs Traveller
Compare Scum and Villainy and Traveller side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Scum and Villainy | Traveller | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Scifi |
| Play Style | Narrative, Heist, Faction Play, Low-Prep, Roleplay-Heavy, Exploration, Atmospheric | Sandbox, Simulation, Exploration, Deadly, Character Building, Faction Play |
| Core Mechanic | Forged in the Dark. Roll d6 dice pool, read highest: 6 = full success, 4–5 = partial success, 1–3 = bad outcome. Position (controlled/risky/desperate) sets stakes. Flashbacks replace planning. Progress clocks track complex obstacles. | Roll 2d6 + skill + modifier ≥ 8 to succeed. Character generation is a mini-game. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | 2d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | Forged in the Dark | Traveller Fair Use Policy |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Evil Hat Productions / Off Guard Games | Mongoose Publishing |
| Year | 2018 | 2022 |
| Best For | Groups who want Firefly/Star Wars-style spaceship crew adventures with Blades in the Dark's fiction-first mechanics. | Hard sci-fi sandbox campaigns with trading, exploration, and realistic space travel. |
| Highlights | Flashbacks eliminate tedious planning, ship playbooks level up alongside characters, detailed faction system, low GM prep | Comprehensive sci-fi toolkit, lifepath character creation, detailed trade/travel systems |
| Considerations | Tightly tied to its specific setting, ship playbook progression can overshadow individual characters, faction system requires significant GM prep between sessions | Lifepath character creation can produce unplayable results, subsystem rules are spread across multiple supplements, steep buy-in if using official sourcebooks |