10,000 Swords Against Heaven vs Symbaroum
Compare 10,000 Swords Against Heaven and Symbaroum side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| 10,000 Swords Against Heaven | Symbaroum | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Scifi, Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Martial Arts, Tactical, Character Building, Classless, Fiction-First, Survival, Resource Management, Sandbox, Dark Fantasy, Weird | Dark Fantasy, Player-Only Rolls, Corruption, Exploration, Roll to Cast, Classless, Character Building, Tactical, Gritty, Lore-Heavy |
| 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 d20 and try to land equal to or under one of eight Attributes: Accurate, Cunning, Discreet, Persuasive, Quick, Resolute, Strong, and Vigilant. Opposed tests adjust that Attribute by 10 minus the opponent's relevant value, so a weak foe grants a bonus and a strong one imposes a penalty. Only players roll dice, so an enemy attack becomes a player Defense test and NPC stats appear as fixed modifiers on the player's roll. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Free core rules | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 2 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Third Party License | Symbaroum Third-Party Tabletop Module License (version 1.0) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Core rulebook Third Party License | Commercial publishing allowed — Free League Free Tabletop License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | JK Saavedra | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2026 | 2015 |
| Languages | English | English, Swedish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| 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 long-form dark fantasy expeditions into ancient ruins, where magic, cursed relics, and the darkest parts of the forest put each character's soul at risk of permanent taint. |
| 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. | Corruption turns casting and cursed relics into a gamble: temporary taint that pushes total Corruption to half a character's Resolute leaves permanent Corruption and a Stigma, a step toward becoming an abomination. Witchsight reads the colored Shadow of a creature, place, or object to expose corruption and deceit, at a temporary Corruption cost per attempt that rises with the ability's tier. Only players roll dice, turning every exchange into player attack, Defense, damage, and Armor rolls against fixed NPC values. |
| 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. | Mystic play carries steady bookkeeping: Corruption costs for learning and casting vary by tradition and tier, and temporary and permanent totals must be tracked against the threshold. Each hit passes through several steps (Armor reduction, damage against Toughness, and a Pain Threshold effect when one hit exceeds it), which adds bookkeeping in busy fights. The core book deliberately limits its setting to the region around Davokar; the lands south of the Titans and the broader world receive only brief mention. |