Adventurer Conqueror King System vs Shadowrun
Compare Adventurer Conqueror King System and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Adventurer Conqueror King System | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Sandbox, Domain Management, Character Building, Simulation, Dungeon Crawl, Ascending AC, Vancian Casting | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d20 + modifiers vs. a target value for attack throws, saving throws, and proficiency throws. 18 classes across core (Fighter, Explorer, Thief, Mage, Crusader, Venturer), campaign (Assassin, Barbarian, Bard, Bladedancer, Paladin, Priestess, Shaman, Warlock, Witch), and demi-human archetypes. 110 proficiencies and 378 spells. Characters progress from adventurers to domain rulers with integrated systems for strongholds, realms, mercantile ventures, criminal syndicates, armies, pitched battles, and sieges. | 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 | d20 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Low | High |
| Runnability | High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Cost | $$$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Autarch LLC | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2024 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want a B/X-rooted OSR game that seamlessly scales from dungeon crawling to ruling kingdoms, with deeply integrated economics, domain management, and mass combat. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Detailed domain and kingdom management rules, economics and mercantile systems are integrated throughout, mass combat scales from skirmishes to wars, 18 classes with quick-start templates, builds on B/X foundations | 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 | 540+ page rulebook is intimidating, tightly coupled subsystems, fantasy-only with narrow genre support, very high GM prep for domain-level play | 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. |