The Expanse Roleplaying Game vs Thirsty Sword Lesbians
Compare The Expanse Roleplaying Game and Thirsty Sword Lesbians side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| The Expanse Roleplaying Game | Thirsty Sword Lesbians | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Scifi | Fantasy, Scifi, Cyberpunk, Modern |
| Tags | Licensed IP, Space Opera, Ship-Based, Crunchy, Social Combat, Investigation, Faction Play, Social Intrigue, Strong GM Support, Tactical | Narrative, Fiction-First, Character-Driven, Drama, Roleplay-Heavy, Collaborative, Playbook-Driven, CC-Licensed Rules, Beginner-Friendly, One-Shot Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll three six-sided dice, two matched and one differently colored Drama Die, and add an ability score plus a focus bonus of +2 if applicable. The total must equal or beat a target number set by the GM or an opponent's result. Rolling doubles generates stunt points spent on combat, exploration, or social effects. The Drama Die's value sets the degree of success. | When a move's fictional trigger occurs, roll 2d6 plus Daring, Grace, Heart, Wit, or Spirit. Each move defines the consequences for an up beat on 10+, a mixed beat on 7–9, or a down beat on 6-; down beats mark XP and let the GM introduce a complication. |
| Dice | 3d6 | 2d6 |
| Complexity | High | Low |
| Accessibility | High | Very High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | CC BY-SA 4.0 (text) |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | Commercial publishing allowed — Powered by Lesbians open license |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | Free |
| Publisher | Green Ronin Publishing | Evil Hat Productions |
| Year | 2019 | 2021 |
| Languages | English | English, French |
| Best For | Groups who want a character-focused science fiction campaign of crew jobs, faction pressure, and danger across the Solar System. It suits tables that want structured action, investigation, and social encounters alongside ship travel. | Groups seeking queer action romance centered on personal relationships. It supports one-shots and campaigns built through collaborative setting creation. |
| Highlights | Backgrounds, professions, talents, and focuses build characters with mechanical ties to their lives before the campaign begins. Action, exploration, and social encounters each use dedicated stunts, giving different kinds of scenes procedures beyond a single skill roll. The Churn turns accumulated complications into escalating story events, giving the Game Master a structured way to introduce setbacks. | Conditions impose concrete penalties until recovery scenes or destructive actions clear them. Strings let characters influence rolls or tempt choices, making relationships mechanically consequential. Playbook conflicts and Smitten prompts give each romance a source of dramatic tension. |
| Considerations | Combat stunts are drawn from six separate category tables covering roughly sixty options, requiring both players and the GM to check charts mid-fight to keep pace. Ground and air vehicles receive no example statistics, leaving their combat rules almost entirely improvised. The forty-page setting guide summarizes the solar system's factions and history at a survey level, so groups wanting deeper political detail need outside reading of the novels. | There is no general move for persuading an NPC directly, so mechanical leverage comes from gaining and spending Strings. The default Fight move resolves one exchange rather than a turn-based combat round, but optional Expanded Fight Moves support longer duels. Exploration and investigation rely on fictional positioning or Defy Disaster instead of dedicated procedures. |