Ars Magica vs Shadowrun
Compare Ars Magica and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Ars Magica | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy, Historical | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Play Style | Crunchy, Freeform Magic, Lore-Heavy, Collaborative, Character Building, Simulation, Open Source, Roll to Cast, Domain Management, Roleplay-Heavy, Social Intrigue | Crunchy, Tactical, Combat-Heavy, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a d10 + Characteristic + Ability against an Ease Factor. Simple die rolls count the result at face value; stress die rolls on a 1 double the next roll (cascading), while a 0 risks a botch by rolling additional botch dice. Magic uses Technique + Form (five verbs like Creo, Perdo combined with ten nouns like Ignem, Corpus) to define any spell effect. Formulaic spells are pre-learned, spontaneous spells can attempt any Technique + Form combination by halving the casting total, and ritual spells handle large-scale or permanent effects. | 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 | d10 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | High | Very High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | Medium |
| License | CC BY-SA 4.0 | No open license |
| Cost | $ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Atlas Games | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2004 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want a deeply researched medieval European setting with the most flexible magic system in tabletop RPGs and troupe-style play where multiple characters share the spotlight across seasons of game time. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | Technique + Form magic system allows freeform spell creation by combining five verbs with ten nouns. Troupe-style play rotates magi, companions, and grogs so every player has multiple characters. Covenant management adds strategic play between adventures. Mythic Europe setting blends historical accuracy with medieval folklore and theology. | 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 | Core rulebook is dense at 240 pages with extensive magic subsystems that require study before play. Laboratory rules, seasonal advancement, and covenant management demand significant bookkeeping. The troupe-style format requires buy-in from the whole group. Combat is deliberately secondary to magic and social play. | 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. |