ALIEN RPG vs Shadow of the Demon Lord
Compare ALIEN RPG and Shadow of the Demon Lord side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| ALIEN RPG | Shadow of the Demon Lord | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-Fi, Horror | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Fear & Stress Mechanics, Survival, Deadly, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Gritty, Licensed IP | Dark Fantasy, Gritty, Deadly, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Corruption, Character Building, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Atmospheric, Strong GM Support |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Stress adds extra dice: better odds, but stress dice that roll 1 trigger panic. Push rolls to reroll failures but gain stress. Cinematic mode for one-shots, Campaign mode for long-form play. | Roll d20 plus an attribute modifier against 10 for a challenge or the target’s Defense or attribute for an attack. Boons and banes cancel one for one. Roll the remaining d6s and add the highest boon or subtract the highest bane. |
| Dice | d6 dice pool | d20, d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 4 of 5 book tools | 4 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved (20th Century Studios license) | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Not yet researched | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Free League Publishing | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2025 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, Swedish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese | English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Chinese |
| Best For | Sci-fi horror campaigns and one-shots in the Alien universe, with a stress/panic system that mechanically drives tension. Supports both deadly cinematic one-shots and long-form campaign play. | Groups who want lethal fantasy horror with flexible character paths and campaigns built around eleven adventures. |
| Highlights | Stress and panic system mechanically reinforces horror tension, two distinct play modes (Cinematic and Campaign), Evolved Edition streamlines rules and improves layout, well-supported licensed setting | Novice, expert and master paths combine freely to create specialized characters. Fast turns trade movement for an earlier action. Insanity and Corruption give frightening encounters and forbidden acts lasting mechanical consequences. |
| Considerations | Tightly bound to the Alien IP with limited genre flexibility, stress mechanics can feel punishing at high levels, Evolved Edition changes are modest over 1st edition | Starting characters can die from a single strong hit. The rules include graphic body horror and disturbing effects of forbidden magic. Advancement ends at level 10 after the campaign’s final adventure. |