The Black Hack vs Werewolf: The Apocalypse
Compare The Black Hack and Werewolf: The Apocalypse side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| The Black Hack | Werewolf: The Apocalypse | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Horror, Modern, Fantasy |
| Tags | Rules-Light, Dungeon Crawl, Hackable, Beginner-Friendly | Atmospheric, Base-Building, Character Building, Character-Driven, Combat-Heavy, Corruption, Lore-Heavy, Strong GM Support, Superpowers, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Players roll d20 under their attribute scores to succeed at actions. Advantage and Disadvantage (roll 2d20, pick best or worst) modify difficulty. Armour provides a pool of d6 Armour Dice that absorb damage. Consumable resources use a Usage Die chain (d20→d12→d10→d8→d6→d4→gone): roll 1–2 to downgrade. | Build a d10 dice pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill. Each 6 or higher is a success, and meeting the Storyteller-set Difficulty wins. Pairs of 10s add successes. Rage dice replace regular dice up to current Rage and can cause Brutal outcomes. |
| Dice | d20 + d4–d12 | d10 dice pool |
| Complexity | Very Low | High |
| Accessibility | Very High | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Very High |
| License | The Black Hack Open Game License | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$ |
| Publisher | Gold Piece Publications | Renegade Game Studios |
| Year | 2018 | 2023 |
| Best For | Groups wanting a fast, hackable OSR dungeon-crawling game with modern design sensibilities: roll under attributes, abstract distances, and usage dice that track resources without bookkeeping. | Groups who want long-form modern horror about shapeshifter packs defending communities from ecological and spiritual threats, with violent power constrained by moral and social consequences. |
| Highlights | Highly hackable: spawned an entire subgenre of 'X Hack' games, core rules fit in about 30 pages, Usage Die tracks resources without inventory math, armour-as-dice-pool adds a tactical layer, conversational writing style makes rules easy to learn | Rage dice make supernatural power volatile because Brutal results can redirect failed actions into destruction or magnify successful violence. Choosing a Garou form changes a character's capabilities, creating tactical and narrative options. Caerns give the pack an improvable spiritual home whose traits connect campaign advancement to territory and community. |
| Considerations | Only 4 classes (Warrior, Thief, Cleric, Wizard) in the core, limited character customization beyond class and background, no setting included, light on GM guidance compared to larger games, may lack depth for long campaigns | After a turn without a kill, Crinos requires Willpower each turn or frenzy follows, making the war form difficult to sustain outside violent scenes. Harano and Hauglosk can remove a Garou from play when despair or absolutism fills either track, making moral decline a campaign-level consequence. The game centers mature environmental and spiritual horror, including graphic violence and themes of exploitation and extremism that require deliberate table boundaries. |