Conan: The Hyborian Age vs Shadowrun
Compare Conan: The Hyborian Age and Shadowrun side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Conan: The Hyborian Age | Shadowrun | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy | Cyberpunk, Fantasy |
| Tags | Classless, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Gritty, Licensed IP, Low-Prep, Skill-Based, Strong GM Support, Sword & Sorcery, Tactical | Crunchy, Tactical, Heist, Character Building, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Skill-Based, Mission-Based, Urban Fantasy |
| Core Mechanic | Roll a Stat die, add the Stat value and modifiers, and meet or exceed a GM-set Difficulty. Player characters also roll a separate Flex die with nearly every roll; a maximum result triggers a choice such as gaining Stamina, turning failure into success, refunding sorcery costs, or inflicting Massive Damage. | 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 | d6–d10 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Very High |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | Very High |
| License | All Rights Reserved | No open license |
| Third-Party Publishing | No verified route found | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Monolith Board Games SARL | Catalyst Game Labs |
| Year | 2025 | 2019 |
| Best For | Groups who want combat-forward Conan adventures of treasure hunting in lost cities and ancient tombs. Sorcery is rare and costly. | Groups who want cyberpunk-fantasy heists with deep mechanical subsystems for hacking, magic, and combat. |
| Highlights | A player-only Flex die turns maximum results into immediate choices such as automatic success, Stamina, a sorcery refund, or Massive Damage. Stamina lets characters push movement, rolls, damage, and learned skills when the moment matters. Abstract Range supports combat without a physical map, while optional Areas add map-based positioning without replacing the core procedure. | The setting fuses megacorporate intrigue with magic and metahuman races, so a single team mixes street samurai, mages, and deckers. Distinct subsystems model Matrix hacking, spellcasting, drone rigging, and astral space, each carrying its own rules depth. The Edge economy converts situational advantages into a spendable resource for rerolls, extra hits, or penalties on opponents. |
| Considerations | Combat asks players to track action economy, defenses, and resource state at once. Sorcery is restricted by character Origin and can consume Life, Stamina, actions, and ongoing upkeep. Wealth and noncombat possessions are abstract, while difficulty, encounter tuning, and dramatic interventions rely on GM judgment. | Matrix hacking runs on its own timescale and can leave non-decker players idle during a run. Character creation spreads across attributes, skills, magic or resonance, gear, and lifestyle, making the first build long. Dice pools grow large at high skill, so counting hits on a fistful of d6s slows resolution. |