Call of Cthulhu vs Shadow of the Demon Lord
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Shadow of the Demon Lord side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Shadow of the Demon Lord | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Fantasy, Horror |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Dark Fantasy, Grimdark, Fast Sessions, Beginner-Friendly, GM-Friendly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 equal to or under your skill percentage. Success tiers at half (Hard) and one-fifth (Extreme) of the skill value. Bonus and penalty dice adjust the tens digit. Failed rolls can be pushed for a second attempt at greater risk. | Roll d20 + modifier vs. target number 10. Boons and banes (d6s) add or subtract from the roll, canceling each other out. |
| Dice | d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Community | High | Medium |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | Forbidden Rules SRD |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Schwalb Entertainment |
| Year | 2014 | 2015 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want fast, dark fantasy with streamlined d20 mechanics and a sense of impending doom. |
| Highlights | Sanity system mechanically reinforces horror tone. Intuitive percentile skill system with tiered success levels. One of the largest published scenario libraries in the hobby. | Fast character creation, quick sessions, single boon/bane mechanic replaces most modifiers, 11 levels keep campaigns short |
| Considerations | Chase rules add complexity with limited payoff, 46-skill list requires point allocation across multiple categories, sanity spiral can remove player agency in extended campaigns | Dark horror tone limits genre range, setting tightly coupled to core rules |