Against the Darkmaster vs Shadowrun
Compare Against the Darkmaster and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Against the Darkmaster | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Character Building, Character-Driven, Combat-Heavy, Deadly, High-Fantasy, Heroic, Exploration, Journey, Mana Points, Roll to Cast, Corruption, Random Tables, Skill-Based, Dark Fantasy | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 + skill bonus against a difficulty threshold for skill checks, or against an opponent's defensive bonus for attacks. Rolls of 01–05 are automatic failures (fumbles); rolls of 96–00 are open-ended, allowing a second d100 roll added to the first for explosive results. Attack rolls that exceed the target produce hits on weapon-specific attack tables, with high results triggering critical strikes that cause injuries, bleeding, and conditions beyond simple hit point loss. | 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 | d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | Medium | Medium |
| License | Proprietary (open00 SRD planned) | No open license |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Open Ended Games | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2020 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want an epic good-versus-evil campaign with deep character creation, detailed travel mechanics, and crunchy percentile combat with critical hit tables — especially fans of Rolemaster or MERP looking for a modernized take. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Character creation combines Kin, Culture, Vocation, and Background into highly differentiated characters with personal Passions that mechanically drive play. Detailed overland travel system with terrain-specific hazard tables, foraging, camping, and safe haven mechanics. Magic system with 30+ Spell Lores and over 300 spells, available to all Vocations at different costs. The Darkmaster creation system lets the GM build a campaign-defining antagonist with servants, artifacts, and a dark stronghold. | Unique cyberpunk-fantasy setting blending megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races. Dedicated subsystems for Matrix hacking, magic, rigging, and astral space. Edge system replaces many situational modifiers with a spendable tactical resource. Decades of published lore spanning in-world history from 2011 to the 2080s. |
| Considerations | 574-page core book requires significant reading investment before first play. Open-ended d100 rolls and critical hit tables can produce extreme outcomes that swing encounters unpredictably. No published setting — the GM must build or adapt one, though the included introductory campaign provides a starting framework. Character creation involves multiple layered steps (Stats, Kin, Culture, Vocation, Skills, Backgrounds, Passions) that can take an entire session. | Matrix hacking runs as a parallel subsystem that can leave non-decker players waiting. Multiple supplemental rulebooks needed for full coverage of magic, Matrix, and rigging. Published books have documented editing and layout issues. |