City of Amber vs Hogwarts: An RPG

Compare City of Amber and Hogwarts: An RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	City of Amber	Hogwarts: An RPG
Genre	Fantasy, Horror	Fantasy
Tags	Urban Fantasy, Rules-Light, Career-Based, Investigation, Mystery, Noir, Atmospheric, Roll to Cast, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly	Magic School, Licensed IP, Family-Friendly, Mystery, Rules-Light, Roll to Cast, One-Shot Friendly, CC-Licensed Rules
Core Mechanic	Roll d100 (2d10: one die chosen as the tens, the other as the ones) and try to roll under one of four Stats: Vitality, Willpower, Agility, or Cunning. Skills, situational advantages, or assists let the player roll twice and take the better result; disadvantages take the worse. Three Saves (Fear, Magic, Body) resolve the same way. Failed rolls, entering combat, and casting spells each add Stress; reaching 10+ Stress drains Vitality or Willpower and adds a Consequence, and a critical Save failure forces a Panic check against current Stress.	Roll 2d6 + trait (Bravery, Cunning, Intellect, Loyalty, or Magic). On 10+, full success. On 7–9, success with a cost or complication. On 6 or less, fail but mark Experience. Moves are triggered by the fiction: Basic Moves cover danger, stealth, persuasion, and knowledge; Magic Moves handle spellcasting, potions, dueling, and magical creatures; Quidditch Moves resolve matches.
Dice	d100	2d6
Complexity	Low	Very Low
Availability	Paid	Free core rules
Runnability	3 of 5 book tools	Book tools not listed
License	All rights reserved	CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (original non-Harry Potter content and rules only; Harry Potter IP/trademarks excluded)
Third-Party Publishing	Not yet researched	Not yet researched
Publisher	Chrome Dog Games	David Brunell-Brutman
Year	2026	2020
Languages	English	English, Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Ukrainian
Best For	Groups who want a 1940s urban fantasy with horror undertones, where ordinary New Yorkers awaken to a hidden city of orcs, fey, and shades and pierce the illusion that keeps everyone else asleep. Built for one-shots and short campaigns driven by investigation, magical awakening, and dread.	Harry Potter fans who want a rules-light, narrative RPG for playing out original stories at Hogwarts: especially groups with younger or first-time players
Highlights	Amber level (1–10) is a double-edged progression: rising levels unlock new perceptions and career abilities (eventually including the power to command Grays), but falling to 0 reverts a character to a mindless Gray and hitting 10 retires them from play permanently. The Stress/Panic/Consequence cascade is the mechanical heart of the horror: failed rolls and entering combat each add Stress, hitting 10+ drains Stats and locks in a long-term Consequence (Haunted, Catatonic, Amber Dread, and nine others), and a critical Save failure forces a Panic check against current Stress. Career-gated magic means the same 20-spell list works differently across Careers: Street Wizards cast directly from randomly rolled spells, Artists bake spell effects into physical objects anyone can trigger, and Vagabonds redistribute Amber at personal cost. The Anchor (a mundane personal object worth two starting Amber points) makes every character's connection to the ordinary world a mechanical vulnerability.	Complete 16-page game with character sheets, spell lists organized by school year, Quidditch match rules, and setting reference: all free. Mysteries mechanic drives story forward with player-generated questions. Friends & Rivals system creates immediate inter-character drama. Conditions track both emotional and physical harm with distinct recovery paths.
Considerations	Setting is locked to the City: characters cannot leave, and the GM improvises everything beyond its borders. Career and Kindred lists are fixed with no guidance for homebrew options. Magic is heavily gated to Street Wizards; other Careers receive one or two minor spell-like abilities at most. The 49-page rulebook is rules-light by design and leaves substantial setting detail, adventure structure, and faction development to the GM.	Unlicensed fan game with no official support from the IP holders. No structured character classes or playbooks: characters differ mainly by trait scores and House. Advancement is slow, tied to accumulating four Experience. No rules for combat beyond the Duel magic move: physical conflicts use the same basic moves as everything else.