Cyberpunk 2020 vs Symbaroum
Compare Cyberpunk 2020 and Symbaroum side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Cyberpunk 2020 | Symbaroum | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Cyberpunk | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Combat-Heavy, Skill-Based, Deadly, Lore-Heavy, Corruption, Crunchy, Tactical, Simulation, Gritty, Character Building | Dark Fantasy, Player-Only Rolls, Corruption, Exploration, Roll to Cast, Classless, Character Building, Tactical, Gritty, Lore-Heavy |
| 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 a d20 and try to land equal to or under one of eight Attributes: Accurate, Cunning, Discreet, Persuasive, Quick, Resolute, Strong, and Vigilant. Opposed tests adjust that Attribute by 10 minus the opponent's relevant value, so a weak foe grants a bonus and a strong one imposes a penalty. Only players roll dice, so an enemy attack becomes a player Defense test and NPC stats appear as fixed modifiers on the player's roll. |
| Dice | d10 | d20 |
| Complexity | High | Medium |
| Availability | Paid | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | All Rights Reserved | Symbaroum Third-Party Tabletop Module License (version 1.0) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Noncommercial only — Homebrew Content Policy | Commercial publishing allowed — Free League Free Tabletop License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | R. Talsorian Games | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 1993 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, Italian, Japanese, Polish | English, Swedish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| 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 long-form dark fantasy expeditions into ancient ruins, where magic, cursed relics, and the darkest parts of the forest put each character's soul at risk of permanent taint. |
| 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. | Corruption turns casting and cursed relics into a gamble: temporary taint that pushes total Corruption to half a character's Resolute leaves permanent Corruption and a Stigma, a step toward becoming an abomination. Witchsight reads the colored Shadow of a creature, place, or object to expose corruption and deceit, at a temporary Corruption cost per attempt that rises with the ability's tier. Only players roll dice, turning every exchange into player attack, Defense, damage, and Armor rolls against fixed NPC values. |
| 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. | Mystic play carries steady bookkeeping: Corruption costs for learning and casting vary by tradition and tier, and temporary and permanent totals must be tracked against the threshold. Each hit passes through several steps (Armor reduction, damage against Toughness, and a Pain Threshold effect when one hit exceeds it), which adds bookkeeping in busy fights. The core book deliberately limits its setting to the region around Davokar; the lands south of the Titans and the broader world receive only brief mention. |