10,000 Swords Against Heaven vs Shadowrun
Compare 10,000 Swords Against Heaven and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| 10,000 Swords Against Heaven | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Scifi, Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Tags | Martial Arts, Tactical, Character Building, Classless, Fiction-First, Survival, Resource Management, Sandbox, Dark Fantasy, Weird | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a pool of d6s equal to the relevant Cultivation rating, adjusted for the circumstances. Each die showing 4–6 counts as a Strike. Meet or exceed the action's Demand to succeed; opposed checks compare Strike totals. | Roll a pool of d6s equal to attribute + skill, counting 5s and 6s as hits. Meet or exceed a threshold to succeed. Situational advantages generate Edge points rather than modifying dice pools directly; Edge is spent on tactical effects like rerolling dice, adding successes, or imposing penalties on opponents. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Very High | High |
| Runnability | Low | Very High |
| License | Third Party License | No open license |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Core rulebook Third Party License | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | Free | $$$ |
| Publisher | JK Saavedra | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2026 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups seeking cultivation campaigns with reactive tactical combat and open-ended exploration. The setting centers communist revolution against divine and capitalist rule. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Two-stage Interrupt cascades let combatants spend Actions to respond before an opponent's declared action resolves. Licenses from fifteen Sects combine with limited Meridian slots to support changeable martial and magical loadouts. Magnetite is both currency and a source of XP, making cultivation compete with equipment purchases. | The setting fuses megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races, so a single team mixes street samurai, mages, and deckers. Distinct subsystems model Matrix hacking, spellcasting, drone rigging, and astral space, each carrying its own rules depth. The Edge economy converts situational advantages into a spendable resource for rerolls, extra hits, or penalties on opponents. |
| Considerations | Characters start fragile by design; the book expects many to die at Stage 0 before cultivation takes hold. Casting Magick prevents Defense Checks, making positioning and allied protection important. The premise centers communist revolution, and the book warns of sexual violence and body horror. | Matrix hacking runs on its own timescale and can leave non-decker players idle during a run. Character creation spreads across attributes, skills, magic or resonance, gear, and lifestyle, making the first build long. Dice pools grow large at high skill, so counting hits on a fistful of d6s slows resolution. |