Cyberpunk 2020 vs RuneQuest
Compare Cyberpunk 2020 and RuneQuest side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Cyberpunk 2020 | RuneQuest | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk | Fantasy |
| Tags | Combat-Heavy, Skill-Based, Deadly, Lore-Heavy, Corruption, Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Gritty, Character Building | Crunchy, Tactical, Lore-Heavy, Deadly, Character-Driven |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 1d10 + the relevant stat + skill and meet or exceed a difficulty number. Opposed checks compare totals, with ties favoring the defender. A natural 1 automatically fails the check. A natural 10 adds one extra 1d10 to the total. | Roll d100 under your skill percentage. Criticals at 1/20th of skill, specials at 1/5th, fumbles at 95+. Seven characteristics (STR, CON, SIZ, DEX, INT, POW, CHA). Combat uses hit locations (d20) with per-location HP and armor. Strike ranks determine action order. Runes are percentile-rated cosmic affinities that fuel magic and shape personality. Passions (Love, Hate, Honor, Loyalty) augment skills when invoked. |
| Dice | d10 | d100 |
| Complexity | High | High |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | Book tools not listed |
| License | All Rights Reserved | All Rights Reserved |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Homebrew Content Policy | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | R. Talsorian Games | Chaosium Inc. |
| Year | 1993 | 2018 |
| Languages | English, Italian, Japanese, Polish | English, French, German, Spanish |
| Best For | Groups who want dangerous urban jobs with customized cybernetic characters and detailed firefights. Campaigns can draw on personal enemies and corporate power struggles in Night City. | Groups who want deep mythic fantasy where characters are embedded in cults, clans, and cosmic forces: with tactical hit-location combat and a world steeped in decades of lore. |
| Highlights | Role-specific abilities give specialists distinct ways to influence a job. Lifepath events establish enemies and allies that can become campaign hooks. Cyberware trades mechanical upgrades for Humanity loss that reduces Empathy. | Glorantha is one of the most detailed settings in RPG history, Rune and Passion mechanics tie characters to the mythic world, hit-location combat adds tactical detail, skill-based advancement through use, three distinct magic systems |
| Considerations | Extended Net infiltrations use separate procedures that can leave other characters waiting. Armor layering and damage to specific body locations require repeated calculations during firefights. A sufficiently damaging head hit kills outright regardless of remaining health. | Very steep learning curve, tightly coupled to Glorantha setting, combat bookkeeping is heavy, expensive to collect all sourcebooks, dense lore for new players |